Bellflowers and Wagtails
by Zero-Sennin
Summary: Minato Sahashi, thanks to his father's patient teaching, had been given a strong body and a stronger spirit. As he is drawn into the mysterious Sekirei Plan, he must rely on both to see his way through to the very end, with his Sekirei at his side. Covers the events of the first anime series. Complete.
1. A Wagtail Alights Next to a Bellflower

_**Shintou Teitou, Japan: "The Hole" Tavern**_

_**2009**_

_**10:45 PM**_

_The night outside was cold and bleak, with clear skies and a biting wind that traveled through the empty alleys of Shintou Teitou's midtown district. In the shadows of the glowing skyscrapers, representing the highest level of wealth and prestige, there were a number of quiet, broken-down places where the tired and ill-used people of the city could drown their sorrows, and more rarely, themselves, in a mountain of beer and bottles. One such place, The Hole, was particularly full on this night. A few old, sagging tables sat outside of the bar itself, with empty, unattended chairs. The rusted metal door, surrounded by midnight-black walls, was shut tight, opening only to allow a drunken patron out or let a sober one inside. _

_The interior of the building was poorly lit and poorly kept for the most part, with a few lights dangling from frayed cords attached to the ceiling. The walls were flaking and marked up with scratches or stains where blood or beer had splattered on the walls. Men and women alike were clustered around the cracked, small wooden tables or scrunched into dirty, dusty corners, nursing cans or glasses and not even speaking to each other. A droning, depressed jazz song played through crackling old speakers resting on the old beer rack behind the bartender, who was occupying himself by wiping out mugs with a dirty rag._

_In this dingy, depressed atmosphere, one woman by the name of Takami Sahashi stood out—mostly because of her sharp, austere facial features, her neat white turtleneck and spotless jeans, and her hair, which was clearly black at one point but was rapidly turning silver despite the lack of age lines on her face. She sat at the bar, shifting her weight irritably on the unstable stool beneath her bottom, as she downed an entire glass of beer. After taking the last mouthful, she sighed, swallowed the beer with a grimace, and slowly put down her mug, then covered her face with her hands and sighed, rubbing her temples. No matter how hard she tried to stop them, her thoughts drifted back to the last person she wanted to think about, her boss Hiroto Minaka. He'd advanced one more step in his goal to build his company, Mid-Bio Informatics, by buying up a number of smaller companies. His eyes were now turned to the Higa Pharmaceutical company, and it was obvious that he was going to either acquire it or grind it out beneath his heel no matter how long it took him to do so._

_When they'd first partnered up—not in the work-related sense, as that had started long before, in college—she'd told herself that his eccentricities were nothing serious. She'd told herself that they would have worked out all of their differences, and that their relationship would have lasted through anything. Instead, he'd taken the technology from the alien ship they'd found so long ago and started using it to build his company. He was genetically tinkering with the embryos and eggs that they'd found on-board for some mad "S Plan" that he'd conceived. And, he was forcing Takami to help by threatening their children, Minato and Yukari, who were staying with her mother in Wakayama. She was certain that he was only threatening their continued safety out of spite, seeing that she'd steadfastly kept him out of Minato and Yukari's lives since they'd been born. Then again, Minaka was just crafty enough to mix business and pleasure (or in this case, personal grudges and and practicality) in whatever ways would suit his needs best. If nothing else, Takami could admit that he was just ruthless enough to make it work._

_Deciding that she'd had enough thinking about Minaka for the time being, Takami pulled her hands away from her face and managed to focus her bleary gaze onto the bartender as she extended her glass towards him. "More of the same, if you've got it," she said, managing to keep her voice level enough to hide her tipsiness. "I'm not drunk enough to get over myself yet."_

_The bartender simply nodded in understanding and put down the glass he'd been working on to pour another bottle of beer into Takami's glass. Once he was finished, Takami pulled the mug back and began to drink again, wishing that the old warm buzz would just hurry up and chase out the cold she felt in her body. Though a slight haze settled over her senses, it did nothing to distract her from the overwhelming guilt she still felt._

_By participating in the S Plan, she was helping Minaka ruin the lives of people that were in many ways just like her children. Even if those "people" were more like "humanoid aliens", it hit Takami close enough to home that she got no sleep at night. At this stage, the fetuses that they'd found on board the ship were approaching an age similar to her own children, and the embryos that had begun to mature were slightly younger._

_107 little lives, all on the path to being ruined._

_She took a breath in through her nostrils and was about to finish draining the mug entirely; the slight tingle in her throat told her that she was close to getting just the buzz she would need to sleep through the night so that she could start the entire process all over again the next night, when her self-loathing brought her to another bar and another bottle. Her liver was going to scream bloody murder at her later down the road, but she really didn't care. Caring was the only reason she'd ever gotten into this mess anyway; she'd cared about Minaka too much to let him go, she cared too much about her children to let them get hurt, and she cared too much about the Sekirei to just let Minaka have them all to himself._

_Caring didn't mean a damn thing._

_The taste of the beer suddenly soured in her mouth, and she slammed the half-empty mug down on the counter, cracking the cheap wood slightly. The bartender gave her a dirty glare through the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, but before he said anything, Takami dug into her purse, smacked a few bills down next to her glass, and swiveled the stool away from the counter, getting up briskly despite the slight blur in her vision."Your tip's covered in that. If you'd tried investing in actual wood, maybe this place wouldn't be falling apart so damn badly."_

_Not even bothering to wait for a response, she turned on her heel and strode out, ignoring the stares that were cast her way—and, in the process, failing to notice that there were three men trailing behind her._

* * *

_The sharp, cold wind of the night did little to sober Takami up, but it did at least cut away some of the beer-induced haze that had settled around her mind. As she strode down the sidewalk with images of Minaka flooding her brain, the sharp clicks of her short-heeled shoes echoed off the buildings and the alleys surrounding her, which felt suffocating thanks to her warped perception of space around her. As she came to the crosswalk just in front of the train station, she cursed; the light was red, and she would have to wait before she could go._

_While she stood there, hands jammed in her pockets, the leader of the group that followed Takami out of the bar caught up to her and put a massive hand on her shoulder. Reflexively, Takami flinched away, pulling her shoulder loose, but her impaired coordination caused her to stumble a bit before she straightened up and turned toward the intruder with a harsh frown. "Can I help you?" she asked sharply._

_The man grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth hidden behind a monstrous, rough black beard. "Yes, you can. The name's Honda. How about you swing by my place with me and my boys for awhile? You looked pretty lonesome in there just now, and I think a little company might cheer you up."_

_Takami folded her arms and shook her head, gently as to avoid making the world spin around her. They didn't reek of alcohol but they'd clearly had enough for them to have trouble taking a hint. "Well, thank you for your concern, but the only company I need right now is another bottle of Sapporo and my own bed." She looked over her shoulder, saw that she had the walk sign for the crosswalk, and turned away. "So if you'll excuse me, I..."_

_The man's smile became distinctly less friendly, and his two cronies stepped forward from behind him, grabbing Takami by one wrist each. She tried to pull free, but their hands were clenched too tightly, and they began to pull her to the right, to wherever they planned to take her. "Now see, you hurt our feelings," the one on her left said. "Why don't you just come along and see how it turns out? You might enjoy it, you know."_

_Takami's eyes narrowed in annoyance, but internally, she was trying not to panic. Her arms being caught wasn't the problem, it was the fact that she'd drained three and a half mugs of beer and was much more tipsy than she was letting on. If she weren't buzzed, she could find a way to break free and then spray the bastards with pepper spray before running off, but her vision was still a bit spotty and she was as likely to point the can at herself as she was them. The best she could do was run, but even with the adrenaline pumping through her system, she felt like she'd be wading through chest-deep water._

_While her muddled mind tried to make sense of her options, a male voice cut the night air, tinged with the slight slur and drawl of the western Japanese countryside. "Where I come from, when a lady asks a fella for a favor, the fella usually listens. Now I advise that you all let her go and walk off quietly."_

_Takami twisted her head around to see who had interceded on her behalf, and was surprised to see a slim man, dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt that glowed in the light of the streetlight above him. His black hair was somewhat short, but grew wildly in all directions, giving the impression that it was longer than it was. His skin was bronzed from exposure to the sun, and his overall body language was extremely relaxed._

_The leader of the group sneered at the stranger and folded his arms, turning away from Takami and his friends. "Who do you think you're talking to like that, you stupid country hayseed? How about you try minding your own damn business?"_

"_You all threatening this lady pretty much makes this my business," replied the newcomer. "And my name ain't 'country hayseed'. It's Masaru. Masaru Takada.'' He then walked forward, calm as he pleased, until he stood in front of the man. "Now, I'll say it once more since you seem to be deaf—or just plain dumb. Let her go and get out of here."_

_Laughing, Honda turned away from Masaru to speak to his friends, unaware that Masaru's stance had shifted the moment he'd done so. "All right, boys, let's play a game. How long will it take me to have this bumpkin flat on his ass—"_

_In that single moment of inattention, Masaru pushed himself forward without a word. Honda heard a footstep hit the ground behind him, and when he turned to see what happened, he was greeted with Masaru's fist smashing into his face. As Honda fell over, Masaru stepped back and glowered at the two men holding Takami; there was a vein pulsing on his forehead and his clenched fists. Fearfully, one of them stepped back, loosening his grip on Takami's wrist, and she quickly pulled her right hand free. She sloppily kicked the man in the crotch, then yanked her other arm free before his companion could react and clumsily turned to run away. The man Takami hadn't attacked rushed to catch up with her, and Masaru advanced with the same blinding speed, moving around Takami like a river around a rock. With a punch to the gut on the left side and a sharp roundhouse kick on the right, he floored the two men without even blinking._

_Takami gaped like a fish, then hid her shock behind a shaky scowl. She could feel the sweat beading on her forehead and silently hoped that Masaru wouldn't notice how unsteady she was feeling. "I appreciate the help, but I would have been fine in a minute," she said, folding her arms and glaring at her savior. "I'm not a helpless child."_

"_Considerin' what you did to one a those fellas just now I don't doubt that," Masaru said, easing back into a casual slouch. "Still, it's like I told 'em; threatening you made it my business to help you out." He kicked Honda with the back of his heel and snorted, then shrugged. "I'd offer to walk you back to your place but that would be a bit forward, I figure. Less you don't really mind a little company?"_

_Takami continued to regard Masaru with her most hostile glare, but behind that facade her brain was working in overdrive. He was polite enough, and sincere in his behavior, that much she could tell from looking at him. He was attentive, too, looking around to be sure everything was all right._

"_Actually, company would be nice," she said, softening her scowl. He'd helped her, after all. There was no reason to be rude to him._

_Masaru broke into a smile, putting his hands into his pockets and falling into step beside Takami as she began to walk down the sidewalk. "Didn't get your name, miss...?"_

"_Sahashi," she answered, without looking over at him. "Takami Sahashi."_

_Silence passed as they moved down the street, and then Takami broke it with another question."So, those moves of yours. They look like karate but not any kind I've seen. Where did you learn how to fight like that?"_

_Masaru scratched his cheek and rubbed the side of his chin with his thumb, with a thoughtful frown on his face. Eventually, he smiled slightly, and said, "My great-grandpa once studied Shotokan Karate, and eventually went off on his own to develop his own style based on what he learned from it. He taught that to my grandpa, who taught it to my pa, who taught it to me. It's called Rindoukan-style Karate."_

_Takami's nose wrinkled as she stopped in front of the train station's main doors. The large glass building had a domed roof and glowed with soft light, shining like a beacon in the dark night. "Bellflower? Why would you name a fighting style something like that?"_

_Though he knew she couldn't see it because she wasn't looking at him Masaru shrugged. "Great-grandpa's favorite flower. Pa said he liked its color."_

"_I guess that's as good a reason to name something as anything," Takami said after a moment. "How long have you been practicing?"_

_The memory came almost unbidden to Masaru's mind once she asked. For him, the hard concrete that they walked on and the towering buildings around them were replaced by the rural countryside of Tosa. The dojo that his great-grandfather built stood behind him, with autumn leaves falling to the ground from tall, twisting trees planted on the swept dirt beneath his bare feet._

"_Started young...probably 'round six years old."_

_And from there, the conversation continued well into the night as they entered the station and headed for the platform where Takami's train home was awaiting them._

* * *

_Bellflowers and Wagtails_

_A Sekirei fan-fiction_

_Written by Zero-Sennin_

* * *

_**~Petal 1: A Wagtail Alights Next to a Bellflower ~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Japan**

**2020**

**Wednesday, 4:30 PM**

It was the time of year that high school graduates and aspiring college students of all ages anticipated and dreaded in the imperial capital of Japan.

The results for college entrance exams were going to be published today.

At this time last year, Minato Sahashi had been firmly on the side of "dreading"; he'd spent much of his time before the exams in training with his father in the mountains. Instead of hitting the books, he'd been hitting tree trunks and breaking rocks for two months, with occasional meditations under a pounding waterfall on top of that. When he'd crawled back to his apartment in Shintou Teitou 48 hours before the entrance exams, he was exhausted and in just enough shape to change the bandages swathed around his waist and arms before passing out on his apartment floor for a day and a half.

Now, at age 19, the slim, dark-haired young man had spent the majority of his time not in training, but study. In cram school and preparation courses, he did nothing more than continuously push himself farther than he ever had before, seeking to overcome his test-taking nervousness by knowing and feeling that he was prepared down to the bitter end. When the test itself came, his pencil had flown across the paper like an angry hornet, scratching the answers onto the page as fast as he could think of them.

He was confident that he'd done well, but the only way to know for sure was to see the results.

As he jogged up the steps that led him out of the subway station, Minato straightened his brown, fur-necked jacket and looked to his left, toward the center of the city where Teitou Tower, the headquarters of the mega-company Mid Bio Informatics, stood over every other building. The company itself was far less established than others of its kind in terms of age, but had become a domineering business force in the capital within the last couple of years, thanks in no small part to its CEO, Hiroto Minaka. Minato had just heard on the train that the company had bought up enough stock in other corporations and some other things to gain almost total control over the city, at least in practice. Rumors abounded about how the man had managed to build his company so quickly, from Yakuza involvement to blackmail, but one thing that no one contested was his vast intellect and his knack for business; those two traits alone had made him the biggest success story in Shintou Teitou.

Of course, mentioning that around his mother, even though she worked for the man himself, was likely to get you a black eye in the space of a blink.

Minato sighed, rubbing his head as he turned from the tower and began to walk to the northeast. The university, commonly called Shinteidai by most locals, was only a ten or fifteen minute walk away from the business sector of the city, so it was much more likely that he would see her more often now than he had in the last several years. She'd been in Shintou Teitou almost constantly since he was young, and though she never said a word about her job aside from cursing her boss in the most violent way possible, Minato understood that whatever she did was important enough to keep her away for months at a time.

"Well, with any luck, the results today will put her in a good mood, for once," Minato said to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets as he continued down the sidewalk. A cool breeze blew, and he was privately grateful that he'd decided to wear his jacket today. "I've got a good feeling that this time is gonna be different."

* * *

A few minutes later, Minato was walking through the twin pillars that marked the entrance to Shinteidai. As he passed beneath a grove of cherry blossom trees, which shed their petals on him and the growing stream of students walking along the paved path, Minato idly took notice of the sea of people that began to surround him. He recognized a few faces from his study sessions in cram school, and unconsciously began to chart and categorize their movement patterns. Some people were pushing ahead in the crowd, while others were simply going with the flow; strangely, the ones most eager to see their scores weren't always the most nervous ones, as their steps were purposeful and they weren't outright shoving away people that moved too slowly for their liking. The people who weren't actively trying to move ahead were much more guarded, huddling in on themselves or trying not to be pushed along—to him, that indicated definite fear of what they were about to see.

Eventually, the crowd came to the boards with the examinees' numbers, set up at the middle of campus; Minato had received his by phone earlier that day and since committed it to memory, so he immediately began scanning for it on the appropriate board. Despite the rising tide of moans and groans around him, occasionally broken by the sound of a joyful sob or a loud cheer, Minato kept his eyes forward and his focus stayed unchanged. His eyes locked onto the numbers he was looking for in the first place, and after blinking once or twice to make sure he was focused on the right line, he cracked a small smile, which eventually spread into a full-on grin. "That's more like it," he whispered to himself, gently pushing his way back to the street with his phone palmed in his hand. "Wait 'till she hears this one. She'll flip."

And, as luck would have it, Takami wasn't in the middle of an apoplectic fit when she picked up the phone, just as Minato passed through the main Shinteidai gates.

"_Minato, what is it?" _she asked. In the background, Minato could hear something making a whining or a screeching sound; some kind of demented dentist's drill, he thought, but he wasn't totally sure what it could have actually been, and wasn't keen on asking. _"I'm kind of busy right now..."_

Minato stopped for a moment and carefully checked the crossing sign before stepping off the curb and into the crosswalk along with a crowd of students (or repeaters) that were leaving campus alongside him. The crowd was in no particular rush, so though they pushed on him, it was gentle and easy, enabling him to walk without really thinking about where he was going. "Mom, I'm just leaving Shinteidai. I checked my exam results, and...well..." Try as he might to keep the surprise, the happiness was pretty much dripping off every word he said, and his mother, sharp as she was, picked up on it immediately.

"_You passed the entrance exam?"_

Minato felt his smile grow at the surprise in her voice. "Yep. They didn't post scores of course, but I passed. When I get my schedule together I'll ask about them."

For the first time that he could remember in the last year, Minato heard his mother laugh. Not her normal, semi-scornful laugh, but a happy one, the kind that he remembered hearing when he was younger and his mother got time off to visit him, his sister, his father, and his grandmother in Wakayama.

Thinking about that made him think about his father again, and he felt his body tremble as the old feelings rushed up to meet him. Instinctively, he took a breath, and the shaking stopped. He now stood at the opposite curb, and stepped back up onto the sidewalk with the rest of the crowd, breaking away so that he could get back to the subway entrance.

"_Minato, you've made a very shitty day extremely excellent,"_ Takami said over the phone, managing to curb the over-abundant happiness in her voice._"I'm proud of you, son. Great job."_

Though she didn't say it, Minato could hear the unspoken part of that sentence: "Your father would be proud of you too". "Thanks, mom."

"_Now, I've got to go, but we'll talk later, OK? Your sister is probably coming to Shintou Teitou pretty soon herself, and I need you to help her out once she's there, so we need to make plans."_

Minato had to suppress a sigh at that. Yukari showing up in Shintou Teitou was not exactly his idea of a good time, much as he loved his sister. She was impetuous and reckless, and with the skills she had, a simple flight of fancy (which she was prone to often) could become a hell of a lot more serious. However, she wasn't a fool when it came to studies and schoolwork; just like him, she'd been a rising star in the classroom and stayed that way up through high school, so there was no way that she'd fail her entrance exams. To be honest, his father hadn't helped matters by encouraging her to live like a "hero of justice", either, but his intentions had been pure at the time, and so Minato couldn't quite hold a grudge.

"All right then, Mom. I'm almost at the train station, so I'll be home in about fifteen minutes or so. I might get lunch, but I'm going to train outside for a bit when I get back to the apartment. Don't be surprised if you call me and I don't pick up."

"_Don't go barefoot," _Takami replied, her voice stern once more as she slipped out of "enthusiastic parent mode". _"I don't care what your father taught you about practicing Rindoukan—those rules don't apply in a cityscape. There are all sorts of germs and nasty things on the ground and I'll not let you get sick because a needle or some other disgusting thing cut your foot open."_

"Yes, ma'am," Minato replied, smiling. "Talk to you later."

"_Mm-hmm."_

With that, Takami hung up, and Minato pocketed his phone, straightened out his jacket, and broke into a light jog, breathing in the cool air with a smile on his face.

* * *

**4:45 PM**

After a short train ride, Minato found himself descending another flight of stairs, this time from the elevated train platform that was only ten minutes from his apartment building. The station itself was placed near a tall apartment building, which had a courtyard paved with square, red-and-gray bricks. As he took the stairs down, three steps at a time, his mind was consumed by pleasure at his success in entering Shinteidai and the thought of what he'd make for dinner that day. Therefore, Minato completely failed to notice the concerned murmurings of the people around him, until he stepped off the stairs, when a sudden rumble broke the relative quiet and shook the stones beneath his feet.

"An earthquake?" he said aloud, pulling himself from his reverie to concentrate on his surroundings.

But aside from other passerby looking around as owlishly as he was, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

Then, at that moment, a nice surprise dropped into his lap.

Or rather, on top of his head.

"I'm sorry! Look out below!" a female voice cried from overhead.

Minato's head immediately snapped up to see who was speaking to him; despite the feminine tone of the voice, he was surprised when he made eye contact with a striking young woman, falling down from just in front of him at a ridiculous height and speed—from the looks of things, she'd just jumped form the railing on the train platform that he'd just left. She was wearing a white-colored shrine maiden's top, complete with red thread stitching at the shoulders and wide, drooping sleeves; a purple sash was tied around her waist with a big ribbon tied in the back. Her red, knee-length skirt was blowing back in the wind, revealing a white pair of stockings and her brown, ankle-high boots.

What got Minato's attention, though, was her eyes. They were a pure, chestnut brown, and her matching hair, blown back by the wind rushing into her face, was tied into a low ponytail by a pink ribbon, giving him a clear view of them.

Then, he remembered that she was about to fall on him and probably crush him unless he caught her. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and extended his arms towards her. With that breath, a pleasant warmth—the power of his ki—flowed through his body and strengthened him as she landed right in his arms. She was too heavy for him to stop entirely, but with his body properly set for the impact, and strengthened by the energy of his ki, he didn't fall over, and instead absorbed the shock by bending his legs, bringing himself into a near-crouch.

"Oof," he grunted, wincing at the sting in his arms. "That was close."

For her part, the young woman looked pleasantly surprised at first, not expecting to be caught so readily. She soon recovered herself, and smiled at Minato as he set her down on the flagstones, then brushed back a strand of her hair that had fallen above her eyes—unusual, since the bangs framing her face were in a sharp cut that didn't leave very many of them loose.

"Thank you," she said. "You're really fast, though! I don't know how you managed to catch me like that, I was literally almost on top of you."

"I just have good reflexes," he replied, returning her smile with a grin. "But, if you don't me asking, why exactly were you...?"

The girl's body suddenly tensed up, and Minato could see her eyes darting to the side as he heard what sounded like someone landing from a jump. He followed her gaze, and saw two very similar-looking girls—twins, perhaps, with long, wild black hair that parted rather sharply in the back and sharply-cut bangs—walking over to him and the girl he'd caught. Their hands were entwined, and they wore little more than sleeveless tops, a pair of long gloves, and a matching set of stockings attached to a pair of "panties". The only difference between them was that one of the girls wore a violet suit while her companion's was a lighter purple.

The one in the violet suit also had a much bigger bust; however, Minato was too distracted by the fact that each of their free hands were raised, and crackling with lightning, to really register that.

"Hey now, that was a pretty impressive jump," the girl in the dark suit said. "But running straight into someone that's got nothing to do with us? How unlucky for him."

The brown-haired girl Minato had caught clenched her fists, causing the fabric of her red sparring gloves to creak ominously. "I already told you that I am not ready to fight! Not until I find my Ashikabi! If you insist on chasing me, leave this man out of it!"

"Oh, we don't care anything about him," the other girl replied, smirking. "But that doesn't mean we're going to leave _you_ alone!" She let her eyes flicker over to her partner. "Hikari, let's finish this."

"Never thought you'd ask, Hibiki," Hikari replied, pulling back her electrically-charged hand. "Get ready, girl. You're about to take a nice nap!"

The world slowed down for Minato as he appraised the situation. Despite the relative impossibility of it, he had somehow run into people who could control electricity, and were chasing after a girl that had apparently made a spectacularly high jump and collided with him without any visible signs of soreness. Ignoring the absolute insanity of the first observation, he could tell just by looking at the girl he caught that she wasn't even rattled by the catch he'd pulled off, or her own jump.

As he began to consider what he could do to resolve the situation, the brown-haired girl intervened by grabbing his arm and running off with him, just as Hikari and Hibiki thrust their hands at the spot where he had been standing—and struck it with a burst of purplish-colored lightning. What took Minato by surprise wasn't the ease with which she pulled him along, but rather, the speed of her gait and stride. The sidewalk and the buildings around them were rapidly blurring away, and he was already breaking into a full on sprint just to keep pace with her.

Despite the sudden stress, he focused for a split second and got his breathing back in order, filling his body once more with ki. Though he had little time to orient himself better for running, at the very least his steps were less faltering and unsteady, meaning that he was less likely to pratfall and pull her down with him. _But this speed. It's not human, nowhere close. I wouldn't be able to move at this speed for more than a few seconds even if I used..._

He shook his head, briefly looking over his shoulder to see that the two spandex girls were making no moves to follow them.

_And those two. That strike of lightning wasn't natural, but...did they really control that? What's going on here?_

* * *

**4:55 PM**

Eventually, Minato and the brown-haired girl made it to a road that lead to one of Shintou Teitou's bridges over the river. Down by the bank of the water, there were two or three empty sport courts, one for basketball and the other two for tennis. Minato immediately tumbled onto the grass by the side of the road, panting quite a bit. Eventually he had simply been unable to maintain his breathing, and just let himself be dragged along; even that wore him out past a certain threshold, so he was too happy to get a break. The girl, for her part, was somewhat exhausted as well, but unlike him, she had enough composure to actually sit down beside him instead of falling over in a heap. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she said, bowing her head. "First, mistaking that jump, and now dragging you along so suddenly..."

Minato eventually rolled onto his back and sat up, shaking his head before looking at her and managing a grin. "It's fine. Actually, this is a pretty good reminder for me to actually keep up with my training. A year ago I probably would've been able to keep pace with you for a while longer." The smile faded as his mind began to wander. "Still, school was a lot more important, and..."

_And Dad was still off on his training trip. Just like he "is" now. _

The girl seemed to miss the melancholy expression on his face, and stood up, bowing shortly. It was at this point that Minato finally noticed that her bust was rather large, mostly because her hands were clasped in front of at about waist level, bringing her arms in slightly and squeezing her breasts...rather closely to each other as a result. "I'm so rude, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Musubi. Thank you for the help back there."

Quickly, Minato forced his eyes up to her head level and kept them there as she came out of her bow. "U-um...Minato Sahashi. It's a pleasure. Though, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly was that all about?"

Musubi opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a loud, cavernous grumbling that came from her stomach. Minato blinked for a few moments, and then he stood up, brushing the grass off of his pants. "You know what, how about you explain over lunch, back at my place. Something tells me that whatever you have to say probably shouldn't be said in public."

Musubi brightened up at the prospect of food, and nodded so eagerly that Minato couldn't help but smile a bit again. Oddly enough, just seeing her happy made him feel unusually warm, and he couldn't help but notice that she had a certain charm about her movements; smooth and feminine, but assured, confident, and upbeat. _It's kind of attractive, actually,_ he thought to himself, turning towards the city proper to lead the way. _I've never seen a girl like her before...and the more I see her the more I want to get to know her._

* * *

**5:14 PM**

Within twenty minutes or so, Minato and Musubi were sitting on the ground in Minato's small, one-person apartment, splitting a large bag of burgers in the living room/kitchen. Mid-afternoon light streamed in from the window above the sink, warming the room up slightly as Musubi continuously wolfed her way through the food that Minato had gotten for them. Minato sat on the other side of the low dining table, his body slightly slouched where he sat.

"Minato-san!" she said, smiling broadly between bites of food. "Thank you so much, I really, really appreciate it."

"It's fine, really," Minato replied, retuning the smile with a slightly nervous grin. Despite his exterior calm, though, he was internally a bit freaked out, primarily because of how _fast_ she was eating. She wasn't even close to choking, either. After a few more moments of this, Musubi put away the last hamburger and daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"So, Minato-san, you wanted me to explain what was going on with those two twins from before," she said, placing her hands on her calves. "Well, um..." She looked from side to side, rather nervously, and then sighed. "I'm part of a competition. I'm supposed to find my Ashikabi, my destined partner, in order to participate in the next stage. My Ashikabi...he or she is somewhere here, in Shintou Teitou. Those two wanted me out of the way before I found my Ashikabi, so they attacked me."

Minato frowned, both at mention of a competition that would allow such things and at the fact that Musubi even had to fight in the first place—she was definitely more fit than she looked, but she didn't seem suited to a battlefield. "Cowardly."

Musubi's face twisted into a frown of distaste as well, shocking Minato due to how starkly it stood against her normally cheerful countenance. "I agree, but...Well, it's not against the rules to attack Sekirei that don't have an Ashikabi. I still want to fight, but not until I find my Ashikabi. However, I can't go back to where I came from and I don't have any money."

Minato's response was immediate as he pounded the bottom of his fist into his left hand. "Then you can stay here until you find him. Or her. For as long as you need. I don't mind at all."

_Though Ootori-san will have my head for it if I can't talk him into it, _Minato thought to himself, grimacing mentally at the thought. His landlord had been extremely adamant about enforcing his "male single student resident" policies from the word "go". Trying to convince him to make an exception would likely fail miserably, but Minato didn't have the heart to tell Musubi that, or turn her out of doors. If it came down to it, he'd find a new place and lie to his mother about why he had to move so that he could get her to act as his guarantor at a new place. Or, he would at least try to half-explain Musubi's situation to her if he couldn't think of a good enough fib. He had no intention of leaving Musubi to fend on her own.

Two sharp raps sounded at his door, and Minato turned towards it, groaning as he left behind his train of thought. He could immediately tell that it was Ootori by the style of knocking, and wondered if he had called the landlord to his door by speaking about him. "Come with me, Musubi-san," he said, failing to keep the sullenness out of his voice as he stood up. "We've got some explaining to do."

Blinking owlishly, Musubi followed Minato as he rolled to his feet and walked toward the door, folding her hands over each other as she stood behind him. Without preamble, Minato opened it, looked downward, and was unsurprised to see Ootori's short, fat frame blocking the doorway. "Evening, Sahashi," the older man said, focusing on him with small, squinted eyes before shifting his gaze over to Musubi. "I see you're up to no good here. Forget the terms of your contract?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about that," Minato replied, scratching his head as the story he meant to tell came together in his mind. "This girl is a friend of my sister's and she's got nowhere else to go until my sister moves into Shintou Teitou. I know it's bending the rules, but it's only temporary and I swear I'm not doing anything untoward with her. Just a week is all I ask."

Ootori simply folded his arms and closed his eyes, pressing his chunky lips together. His body shifted from side to side slightly, and Minato knew that he was legitimately considering the thought instead of pretending. "Well, you've at least been decent about paying your rent...and you're not the kind to lie." He finally looked at Minato again. "One week. That's all you get. She's not out by next Wednesday, I'm coming to get rid of either her or both of you."

Minato bowed. "Thanks, Ootori-san. You're really considerate."

Ootori snorted, and turned away. "Also—you tell anyone I did you this favor, don't be surprised if your electricity goes out for a month."

Minato fought back a wry grin at the landlord's feeble attempt to hide his embarrassment about being complimented. "My lips are sealed."

Without further preamble, Ootori left, but held up one finger, as if to emphasize his point, as he descended the metal stairs that led up to Minato's room. Minato sighed once the old man was out of range, and turned back towards Musubi. "Well, that went over better than I was expecting. Though, if Ootori-san ever finds out the truth..."

Musubi's lip was quivering so much that Minato thought it was going to fall off. "You're going to lose your house because of me. I didn't mean to—"

He shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. He felt her twitch slightly, but when she relaxed under his grip, he smiled and kept speaking. "Musubi-san. It'll be fine. Shintou Teitou is a big city, but you're a fast girl. I'm positive you can canvas it in an entire week and find your Ashikabi with no problem. And, if not, then...I'll figure something out. My father always tells me that a man finds a way to work his problems out no matter how long it takes."

Musubi flushed a bright red, and Minato realized that she felt comfortably warm to the touch. He pulled his mind out of the clouds and let her go, then looked up at the sky, leaning against the railing of the stairs. "Well, the sun's still out. I'll cook dinner and then I'll head down to the park to start training again. Do you want to come along?"

Musubi blinked. "Training? What kind of training?"

"You'll see when we get there," Minato said, pulling his gaze down from the sky. "I think you might enjoy watching, so I don't want to spoil the surprise." He smiled at her again, and Musubi felt heat start to blossom across her face and in her chest.

_This sensation...what is this sensation? _she asked herself.

* * *

**5:45 PM**

The park near Minato's apartment was relatively large but often unvisited during the evening. With the cramped space of his apartment and the occasionally-dirty ground on the complex proper, it was the only place he had to train, and the only place he felt comfortable training in regardless. The grass didn't impede his movement very much, and in fact reminded him of home whenever he got into his routines—there was a thicket of grass near his house that his father would use for training, and the soft sounds that his feet made as he moved through the grass was comforting and familiar.

As always, he started by sitting down, cross-legged, and breathing in and out in a regular rhythm. With every inhalation, he let his stomach swell, and with every exhalation, he pushed out the air he'd gathered. Every repetition made his ki swell and fall comfortably along with his stomach, expanding just a little further every time. Musubi was standing over him, watching with interest, despite the fact that he wasn't doing much aside from sitting and breathing. His deep concentration was stopping her from asking what exactly was going on, but she got her chance when he let out one more breath and stood up.

"Minato-san, what were you doing just now? I haven't seen exercising like that before."

"It's called meditating," Minato replied, beginning a slow set of stretches to loosen his muscles. "In order to practice properly, I have to start and stop each training session like that. It's so that I can remember how to breathe when I'm practicing." He bent down to touch his toes, grunting in satisfaction as he felt several tense muscles in his back slacken slightly. It had been a lot longer than he'd liked since he'd done this, no thanks to studying for the entrance exams; he wasn't as limber as he had been a year ago, even if his body remembered how to move.

Musubi tilted her head to the side. "'How' to breathe?" she asked, scratching her head. "Is the training so hard that you forget things like that when you practice?"

"I didn't mean it quite so literally," Minato said. He straightened up and started another set of stretches, knitting his fingers together and pushing his hands out in front of him; another set of muscles loosened in his arms, creating a pleasant burn. "My style of martial arts believes that in order to fight efficiently, you have to control two things—your breathing, and your movement. When you synchronize the two, your body will build its power—its ki—as you inhale, and let it out as you exhale. It's called 'breathing and walking', and when you use it, it can make your body do all sorts of things it couldn't do before."

After a few moments of thought, Musubi nodded and smiled broadly, crossing her arms. "I sort of don't get it, but it sounds like it makes sense!"

Minato untangled his fingers and shook his head; her enthusiasm was surprisingly infectious, and he was smiling despite his slight exasperation. "All right, then I'll show you, and you'll try it yourself." He flexed his fingers a few times, then closed his eyes to appraise his condition. His body felt warm thanks to his stretches, and his kiwas circulating throughout his body, adding to the sensation of warmth; he opened his eyes and took his basic stance, extending his right hand downward and outward while clenching his left into a fist and bringing it to the side of his body at waist level.

Then, he _moved. _

His rear foot slid through the grass, practically floating even as it ripped up a few blades. When he brought the heel down on the ground, his left fist straightened and snapped out, punching an invisible opponent in the face. As soon as the motion was finished, he pulled back his hand and struck with his right hand in the same way, then punched out with his left hand, landing three "blows" in total. The routine finished, he pulled back into a neutral stance, exhaling calmly as he did. The ki that had been pulsing through his limbs with each blow settled down as the breath left him, and he turned to Musubi, curious to see how she would react.

Musubi's eyes were almost popping out of her head, and her body was trembling. Her shoulders seemed to bounce up and down in place as she walked closer to Minato, looking up at him with a broad smile. "Minato-san! Those punches just now...they were strong! I could feel them shaking the air!" she said, clasping her hands together in excitement. "Is that really what happens when you do that breathing thing right?"

"Pretty much," he replied. Strangely, her proximity was less awkward than it was when she'd first rushed up to him; in fact, he was actively fighting the urge to step closer, afraid that it would creep her out a bit due to the fact that he was just a bit taller than her. "I'm guessing you want to try it out now, don't you?"

Musubi nodded so vigorously that her head practically turned into a blur. He tapped her on the shoulder a few times to catch her attention; she looked at him in a daze, with a warm blush spreading across her face for a moment or two, and Minato's eyebrow rose slightly. The look on her face was so contrary to the rapt excitement she'd shown moments before; Yukari's moods were mercurial, too, but not quite as extreme as Musubi's. He wasn't used to seeing it or dealing with it, but it wasn't really uncomfortable; it just seemed to suit her.

Then, the moment passed, and she blinked back to attention and put her focus directly on him. Once he saw her eyes focus, Minato stepped back from her a bit. "Right. So, the first thing about this exercise is that you have to be calm. If you're moving all over the place, you're not going to be able to do it properly."

Musubi nodded much more slowly, and lowered her hands to her sides. Minato then sat down on the grass, patting the ground next to him. Musubi followed suit, and once she was sitting next to him, he sat straight up and let his hands rest on his thighs.

"Now, in and out," Minato said, after taking a moment to demonstrate. "It's that simple. Just let your stomach swell out as you take in air, and then slowly push it out by pulling your stomach in. The key is to go slowly though. Too fast, and you're missing the whole point of the exercise."

Musubi didn't even nod in acknowledgment of Minato's words; she'd already started inhaling and exhaling, and was sitting stiller than a stone. Minato knew his own rhythm of breathing well enough that he could tell that Musubi was outright copying him—what was uncanny about it was how perfectly she was had synchronized herself with him. If he closed his eyes and listened, he could imagine thinking that he was listening to himself exercise.

Meanwhile, Musubi had fallen into a sort of trance; at first she'd had to consciously attempt to keep her breathing going, but she managed to get the hang of it just quickly enough that she didn't have to concentrate anymore. Aside from her own breathing and her heartbeat, everything else had dropped away from her hearing. As she continued to breathe, warmth flooded out from her stomach, then drew back into it. It was soothing, and her muscles slowly began to loosen as the exercise went on.

After what might have been a moment, a minute, or an hour, a different warmth flooded to her face as she somehow became aware of Minato joining her in the exercise; she couldn't hear him shifting on the grass, but instead _felt_ something else warm up beside her.

It was all so strange, Musubi realized. Whenever he touched her or looked at her, her body would become inexplicably warm, and it only seemed to be getting more and more noticeable as time went on. He was a nice person, yes, and really strong besides that, but this pervasive warmth wouldn't leave her alone. It was almost unbearable, but at the same time it felt...natural. As if the feeling Minato gave her was always supposed to be with her, but was only just now coming to her.

While she sat there, trying to puzzle those feelings out, a female voice spoke to her. It was gentle and soft, but it didn't seem to come from anywhere. The words simply flowed into her head as if they were her own thoughts._"Musubi-chan..." _it whispered. _"Musubi-chan...he's here. Don't let him get away from you, Musubi-chan. Your Ashikabi..."_

Reflexively, her eyes blinked open thanks to the disturbance, and her breathing halted as she stopped meditating. Minato looked over at her with concern in his eyes. "Something wrong, Musubi-san?"

The warmth spread through her again, and she realized that she was blushing furiously as she looked at the expression on Minato's face. "I thought I heard someone say my name."

Minato's pensive frown only deepened. "You seem flushed," he said, putting a hand on her forehead. "Are you feeling lightheaded?"

The moment he made contact with her again, Musubi did feel a bit faint, and her heartbeat sped up. However, she knew that she couldn't be sick. She'd been told by her adjuster, a long time ago, that she was probably never going to catch anything worse than the common cold, and even that would be difficult given her physiology. The only time she would feel anything like what she felt now was if she were reacting to her Ashikabi. _So the voice just now was right, _she thought. _Someone so strong...is my Ashikabi. _She smiled to herself despite the feverish warmth. They were well-suited to each other, it seemed. The gods were truly smiling on her if they saw fit to give her such a person as an Ashikabi.

She gently grasped Minato's broad, callused hand with her two smaller ones, and pulled it down from her forehead, placing it on the center of her chest. Though Minato was uncomfortably aware of how close his hand was to her cleavage, he soon lost sight of that when he realized that he could feel Musubi's heartbeat like a jackhammer. "You're really not well," he said, shifting to stand up and pull her with him. "Your heart's racing and you're flushed. We need to get you to a doctor as soon as we can."

When Musubi replied, her voice was breathy and barely above a whisper in volume; regardless, it was so assured that he stopped trying to move. "No, Minato-san. I...I'm all right." She drew closer to him, and he was suddenly aware of a warm heat between them that hadn't been there before. It was strange and comforting all at the same time; it felt familiar now that it was there, but he objectively knew that he had never felt this before. "Do you feel it? This warmth, this pulse...if my Ashikabi weren't here in front of my eyes, I wouldn't have this feeling. I'm certain of it. Minato-san...no, Minato-sama, you are my Ashikabi."

And with that, she closed the distance between them, gently pushing him down a bit, and kissed him full on the lips. For his part, Minato was too taken aback by her sudden forwardness to complain about being taken by surprise. And the kiss itself felt wonderful; her lips were warm and smooth, while she held him down with just the right amount of strength and gentleness.

What did not escape his notice was the sudden glow at her back. Six—or eight?—thin ovals of pink light spread outward from between her shoulder blades, appearing for all the world like a dragonfly's wings but with sharper, tapered edges. Simply looking at them made him feel as if he were feeling his own ki flowing through his body._ Could that be what they were made of?_ he wondered. _Pure ki? Or am I just imagining things?_

Then, the lights faded, and Musubi, no longer flushed or short of breath, broke the kiss, gently pulling Minato up and embracing him tightly. "And now, my Ashikabi, we are bound together now and forever."

Minato finally managed to get a hold of his tongue again. "Ashikabi? Forever...?" He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but he was too bewildered by the kiss and the lights to articulate himself. "Musubi-san...?"

Musubi smiled gently, pulled away from him, and caressed his face briefly. She was still warm, and Minato felt his skin tingle where her fingertips trailed along his cheeks. "Those lights, Minato-sama, were my wings. I am a Sekirei, and you are my Ashikabi, my destined partner." She closed her eyes and bowed her head, clasping her hands together again as if she were in prayer. "I will fight for you now, and together, we'll ascend into the higher sky."

After a few more moments of staring at her, taking in her earnest smile and the overflowing joy from her body language, Minato finally managed to ask the question that summed up all of his feelings about what had just happened.

"Wait, what?"

* * *

_Author's Notes_**  
**

_I'm back, everyone. Good to be back, too.  
_

_I've been tossing around this story idea for a while, mostly because I wanted to avoid jumping into Bleach again. I know people are hungry for Substitute School, but as much fun as I have writing that series, I nearly had a total burnout near the end of First Semester. So I started this to try something a little new and a little familiar at the same time, and right now I'm sitting on five finished chapters. Releases will be bi-weekly to start with so that I can keep on top of my buffer in case something goes wrong, but at the minimum I intend to put out a chapter a month; if possible, I want to step up to weekly chapters so that I don't take another year to finish this, even though it's going to stop where the first anime season does. Chapter length will likely be a bit more variable as a result.  
_

_Unlike Substitute School, I'll be making a concerted effort to avoid using extraneous Japanese, so there won't really need to be a Cultural Notes section. I will still respond to reviews like I did in Substitute School, though._

_Anyway, I'll see you all in two weeks with the next chapter. I may release it early if I can get one or two more done in the intervening time._

_~ZS_


	2. A Broken Wagtail

_**Wakayama, Japan: Sahashi Residence**_

_**2011**_

_**8:30 AM**_

_Minato hadn't been expecting the surprise that he got on Saturday morning._

_The day before, he'd finally mastered one of the basic Rindoukan techniques, the Hayate. He'd been working on it for about two months, but it wasn't until yesterday that his breathing technique had advanced enough to give him full power and control over the basic movement—a powerful, sliding step forward, and a punch fueled by the ki and forward momentum. He'd been worn out by the time he got the technique right, so his father had sent him off to bed early. As a result, he was up earlier than usual on Saturday, and headed over to the kitchen to fill his growling stomach as soon as he'd rolled out of bed. It was relatively early for a weekend, so he stepped lightly on the wooden floor to avoid making loud thumps and bumps that would have woken his grandmother or sister. _

_From the sound of sizzling and the smell wafting through the air, Minato could tell that his father was already in the kitchen making breakfast, and the low baritone of the older man's voice rumbled slightly in the air. Eager to find out what his father was cooking, Minato quickened his pace, barely touching the floor as he stepped into the kitchen._

_The sun was already out and shining through the opened blinds, and Minato immediately saw his father's broad back in front of the western-styled stove. The smell of onions and frying eggs immediately let Minato know that the meal of the day was an omelet. However, that was soon forgotten when he looked at the other person in the room, a woman with black hair stained with large streaks of white, dressed in a white shirt and sweatpants leaning against the counter on the left side of the stove. _

"_Mom!" Minato said aloud. "You came to visit!"_

_Takami Sahashi smiled at her young son as he wrapped himself around her in a tight hug, and reached down to ruffle his hair. "Your dad was just telling me about what you did yesterday," she said. "I'm proud of you, son. Keep this up and you'll probably get better than him in half the time it took him to learn all of this stuff."_

_His father looked up from the omelet he was frying and shot Takami a dry, playful glance. "Hey now, Tacchi. Don't be so mean to me."_

"_You make it easy, Masaru, and I already told you to not to call me that," Takami replied, rolling her eyes. "At least not in front of the children."_

_Masaru's response was to put on a cheerful grin and turn back to the omelet. "Tacchi, Tacchi~" he sang, using a spatula to flip it over. "My beautiful Tacchi~"_

_Takami groaned and shook her head, while Minato smiled. "I'll go wake up Yukari-chan for breakfast," he said. "I'll be right back, Mom, Dad!"_

_He rushed out of the kitchen, and Masaru smiled at his energy. However, his smile faded when Takami fixed him with a meaningful glance."Now, Masaru, why exactly are we having this conversation about my job again? I told you everything was fine."_

"_Takami, I'm tryin' my best not to worry, but really, I can't help it," Masaru said, letting his smile fade as the conversation turned back to more serious matters. "Don't care how smart he is, this Minaka fella is what my dear mama would call a 'goddamn rat'. Even if he is the kids' real dad, that doesn't mean you gotta bend over backward for him. You realize this is the first time you've seen Min and Yucchi in four months, yeah?"_

_The bags under Takami's eyes became more pronounced as she stared at Masaru. Despite her show of firmness, Masaru could see her body sag a bit as she folded her arms. "I told you, he knows where this house is, and he's got the resources to cause real trouble. He'll do whatever he feels like he has to do to keep me on board, and that includes threatening my mother and the children. If he asks me to do something, I have to do it."_

_Masaru sighed through his nose and shook his head, moving the skillet off of the range so that the omelet wouldn't burn. "Then let me talk to him, already. Ain't gonna do much harm to just have words with him."_

_Takami's hands squeezed tighter around her arms, and the slight sound of her finger joints popping told Masaru that she was trying to hold something back. "It will do a lot of harm, actually. Because I know that you will take the first chance you get to punch him in the face until he passes out, or worse. I'm not going to have my children lose the only father they've had because he murdered their real one in a fit of overprotective rage." Her face fell into a frown. "Minaka may not have harmless intentions towards the Sekirei, but when it comes to me, he's willing to leave things alone so long as I cooperate."_

_Masaru simply rubbed his forehead with the back of his forearm, and looked at the omelet with a sad frown on his face."You truly ain't fixing to budge on this, are you, Tacchi."_

_Takami didn't take her hard stare off of his back, and he could feel it challenging him to turn around and face her. "I'm not."_

_At that moment, hearing her voice shed its weariness and become resolute, Masaru's shoulders squared up, and he reached out to the knob controls for the stove, turning off the burner that the omelet had been cooking on. As the snap of the knob turning into "off" position echoed in the kitchen, he turned to face her with a soft, sad smile. "Consider it dropped, then."_

_Takami returned the smile after several more seconds of silence, and walked the few steps between them to give him a tight, strong hug. "You know how I feel about you," she said, her voice muffled by his chest. "Minaka is the past. I love **you **and want to stay with **you**. What that bastard has to say about it doesn't matter. You are the one that matters to me."_

"_I know, Takami," he replied, leaning downward just a little bit to nuzzle into her neck. "I know."_

_'And that's why I can't let that rat keep threatenin' you and the kids. It ain't his place to mess with my family and I'll damn well show it.'_

* * *

_**~Petal 2: A Broken Wagtail~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Japan**

**2020**

**Wednesday, 5:53 PM**

The kiss had been one of the most amazing experiences of his life.

Musubi had been gentle and hesitant, but her lips were deliriously warm, intoxicating even, and the kiss itself was passionate and loving, as if they'd been together forever. It was extremely comfortable, and he could have stayed there, with her hovering over him, for as long as she wanted to.

And then, the moment had been totally spoiled when wings of light bloomed out of her back, followed by Musubi declaring that he was her Ashikabi.

What confused him most was not what she said—because he could clearly remember her explanation of what an Ashikabi was—but the kiss; the memory of it was so overwhelming that his head was swimming. In this state, he somehow managed to find a bench to sit down on so that he could puzzle through his whirling thoughts. Musubi followed behind him and sat on his right side, looking a little bit like a kicked puppy—probably because he hadn't really responded to her kiss aside from staring at her in a daze and wandering off.

That confusion was gone now. After a few calm breaths, Minato's eyes were clear again, and though his uneasy posture—hunched over slightly, with his fingers interlaced—indicated he wasn't totally at ease yet, the focus with which he looked at Musubi showed quite plainly that he was at least processing the situation more clearly than he had while the kiss was still in his mind. "So, let me make sure I understand," he said, after several moments of silence. "The Ashikabi you were looking for this whole time, to be your partner in this game. I'm the one?"

"Yes, Minato-sama," Musubi said. She tapped the tips of her pointer fingers together, and looked away from him; she felt bad about something, Minato could tell that much, but he wasn't sure what exactly was bothering her. "I was reacting to you before I kissed you, so I'm certain. I'm going to be your Sekirei from now on."

Minato massaged his temples and sat back on the bench, sighing, as he threw his arms over the back of the bench. "That doesn't tell me who you are, Musubi-san. What is a 'Sekirei'?"

Musubi finally brought her head up, though she continued to stare into space and not at him. "I don't know a lot about where we came from, but I know that there are 108 of us, and that none of us are human. We are all stronger, faster, and more resilient than human beings, and as you saw earlier today, some of us have special powers. But without an Ashikabi, we can't access the full spectrum of those powers, and we'll need them in order to fight with each other until the last one is able to claim the prize."

A slight wind blew through the park, and Musubi shuddered, instinctively moving closer to Minato. Minato himself felt a bit cold, but not because of the wind. Before they could touch, Minato's phone rang, jolting him out of his repose. He got it out of his pocket and flipped it open, looking at the video screen; Musubi pressed closer to him to look into it as well. Though the screen wasn't that large, it was enough for him to make out the face of the man staring back at him. The stranger's eyes were hidden behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses, and he wore a confident smile, almost as blindingly white as his hair, his suit and his cape—yet, there was something twisted and mocking about it, more like a cheerful sneer than anything else.

"_Minato Sahashi," _he said, never once dropping the smile. _"It's a pleasure to meet you. But first, allow me to congratulate you for making into Shinteidai—especially after what happened last year. Such a shame when good talent gets squandered on silly things like martial arts. You could have gotten in easily if you had been more focused on studying, I think."_

Minato was insulted by the jab at his martial arts skill and bewildered that Minaka knew so much about him, which caused him to reflexively bite back his first response. That gave Musubi enough time to interject with one of her own. "Professor! How are you doing?"

The Professor nodded. _"I'm well, Number 88. I see you've found your Ashikabi already—that's good. You'll make it to the second stage easily now."_

"Musubi-san," Minato managed to say, his voice choked. "You know this guy?"

"The Professor is the one in charge of the Sekirei Plan," Musubi replied. "He's the one that arranged for the Sekirei to be released in the city to find their Ashikabi."

"_And you, Minato-kun," _the Professor continued, _"are one of those glorious few chosen to be an Ashikabi. Be happy; you have a grand destiny ahead of you now. You and Number 88 are fated partners, destined to either claim the greatest prize of the game or lose it entirely."_

"That's nice, but who exactly _are_ you?" Minato asked, his brows furrowed in annoyance as he regained himself. "Do you work for MBI or something?"

The Professor simply let off an amused laugh and shook his head. _"Well, that's not completely inaccurate, but you're not totally correct either. To answer your question—I am Hiroto Minaka."_

Minato blinked, then choked, then stared blankly at the screen. The president of MBI itself was calling his phone and was responsible for facilitating a game where girls were beating each other up with superhuman powers? The situation sounded patently absurd, and yet, here he was, in the thick of it. Minaka laughed again and shook his head. _"I was expecting someone as well-studied as you to keep abreast with newspapers, Minato-kun. Most people recognize me on sight these days."_

Minato quickly shook his head, and stared at the screen with widened eyes. "But why would you do this?" he asked. "Why would the director of MBI waste his time making these girls fight each other? Are you into blood sports or something?"

"_First of all, not all Sekirei are female; there are quite a few males amongst them,"_ Minaka said, holding up one pointer finger. _"As for what the point is..." _His smile grew wider and nastier simultaneously. _"Well, that's for you to discover. You simply have to advance to the final stage of the Sekirei Plan in order to claim the prize."_

The deflection only made Minato more annoyed with Minaka, and the young man's eyes narrowed angrily. "I'm not interested in your little games. I'm not going to be part of any plan that uses people like this."

"_I'm afraid, Minato-kun, that you don't have a choice,"_ Minaka replied, knitting his fingers together in unmistakable self-satisfaction. _"By becoming an Ashikabi, you have come into possession of a very valuable asset and member of MBI. It is your responsibility to participate in the Sekirei Plan in order to give Number 88, and yourself, true freedom from my company's ever-benevolent eyes. If you try to run away, whether by yourself or with her, we're going to find you. If you try to tell the media about the plan, we're going to find you." _Minaka shifted slightly, and his glasses stopped shining, revealing cold, sharp gray eyes that pierced Minato through the screen, as well as furrowed gray eyebrows. _"And the consequences for yourself, your little sister, your grandmother, and Takami-kun are going to be extremely unpleasant if we have to find you."_

Minato's blood went cold as ice at that last statement. He'd always known his mother worked for MBI, but she was never forthcoming with details in regards to what she did exactly. Still, whatever it was, it paid enough to pretty much cover his essential finances, Yukari's, and even take care of some of his grandmother's affairs back in Wakayama—which meant that it was important enough a job for Minaka to take notice of her and keep tabs accordingly. He wanted to do the right thing and not support this wanton violence, but not if it put her—or his family—in danger. His morals didn't matter much in the face of that kind of threat. "...I understand. So I'm supposed to keep quiet about my part in the...plan, and participate until it's done."

Minaka nodded once, cupping his chin between a gloved pointer finger and thumb. The sinister expression on his face vanished, and the intense ferocity he had been exuding was replaced by an overwhelming sense of superiority which made Minato's stomach turn. _"Or until you lose all of your Sekirei. Whichever comes first."_

All revulsion was forgotten as Minato's hand gripped his phone tighter. "Wait, lose _all_ of my Sekirei? Does that mean that—"

Minaka's grin grew wider still, and he shifted away from the camera, seeming to relax a bit more. _"You may have as many as you desire, Minato-kun. How you wing them, where you wing them—that's all your prerogative. I, nor the Disciplinary Squad, have no intention of stopping you from doing as you __wish. So long as you follow the rules, of course."_

Musubi slightly shrunk back from Minato as his lip twitched upward ever so slightly, exposing a flash of his gritted teeth. "I see. Well, thank you, Minaka-san. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to do." Before the president of MBI could respond, Minato flipped his phone closed and stood up, clenching his empty hand with rage; after a few deep breaths, the anger in his blue-gray eyes eased a bit, and he sighed. "I have half a mind to go marching into that blasted tower and punch him in the face," he said at last, slowly uncurling his fist. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Minato-sama?" Musubi asked, her voice quiet as she stood up. "Are you upset that I...?"

He clenched and unclenched his free hand multiple times as he stared straight forward. The rest of his body was stock still, as immobile as stone. "...Musubi. Have you told me everything you knew about this Sekirei Plan?"

His voice was very soft and very quiet, and somehow that scared Musubi more than anything else. "Yes, Minato-sama! I promise, I told you everything I was allowed to tell you without making you my Ashikabi, and then, I told you pretty much everything I knew aside from that just now on the bench. I didn't lie to you even a little bit."

Minato turned to fully face her, then, keeping his eyes directly on hers. His hand stopped opening and closing, staying balled into a tight, shaking fist. "So, then, you don't know what the actual point of the Sekirei Plan is?"

"The only thing I know about the end of the Plan is that the Sekirei that win will get to stay with their Ashikabi forever, and that their Ashikabi will get the prize that the Professor was talking about. Any Sekirei that lose aren't allowed to stay with their Ashikabi and can't claim the prize." Despite herself, small tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes, mostly because Minato's expression was still impassive and distant as he stared at her. _I never thought Minato-sama's eyes could be so cold. If he's looking at me like that, then he must hate me... _She quickly bowed at the waist, and held herself there. "Please, Minato-sama. If I made you upset by not telling you everything from the start, I promise I'll do better if you'll let me. Just don't be upset, please!"

Seeing her tremble slightly as she waited for him to speak, Minato finally let his expression relax into a tired, apologetic frown, and he sighed. As he let the breath out, his body loosened as well; Musubi saw this and straightened up to look at her Ashikabi once more. "Musubi-san, it's all right," he said. "I'm not angry at you."

_Well, more like "more angry at Minaka than you",_ he thought to himself. _I'm a little bit upset that she didn't come out with everything back at the apartment, but maybe I wouldn't have believed it. Regardless, there's more to this, and I can't let my temper get the best of me. She needs my help to win, and she doesn't look like she has a real choice. _He looked at her, still standing in front of him with her head bowed low, then reached out, and in a moment of affection, rubbed her head gently, like he often did when he wanted to tease Yukari. "You need your Ashikabi in order to participate, and I need to keep my family safe. So I'll help you and get us both free of this dumb plan once and for all. I won't abandon you."

Musubi simply stared at him for a few moments before she grabbed Minato and put him into a bone-crushing hug. He was surprised at first, but eventually managed to raise his arms and return the gesture, enjoying the contact. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll do my best, Minato-sama, I promise," she whispered. "As your Sekirei, I will love you and protect you and everything you love forever!"

For a few moments, Minato was silent, taken aback by Musubi's fiercely-spoken declarations. Then, he blushed violently as he realized just what she'd said to him. "You...you love me? Musubi-san, we...not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but...we haven't even known each other for a full day yet. It's not that easy to just say you're..."

"It's because I'm a Sekirei, Minato-sama," Musubi replied, pulling away just a little bit so that she could look up into his face. "To us, an Ashikabi is more than just a partner in the Sekirei Plan. When our bodies react to someone, we know that person could be the most precious thing in our lives. We know that that person could be the one that will complete us and make us happy. Before I kissed you, Minato-sama, my body was reacting in that way. I don't know why it took so long, but I knew from that moment on that you were my Ashikabi. My heart told me that it was so."

Minato could see the honesty shining in her eyes as she spoke to him. Though she was wrapped around him still, her posture was upright as it could be, and he felt no hesitation or quivering in her body as she held him. She believed what she was saying, and believed it strongly. And, to be honest, considering what he'd seen with the lightning twins earlier that day and Musubi's extraordinary speed and durability, Minaka's claims of these "Sekirei" being aliens didn't seem that far fetched, nor did the idea that Sekirei could identify their soul-mate at a glance.. "Musubi-san, I..."

"Just Musubi is fine now, Minato-sama," Musubi replied, her smile bright as the sun. "I'm your Sekirei, after all. There's no need to be so distant when you speak to me."

Minato turned bright red and shook his head. "E-even so," he said, "I'm still kind of uncomfortable just dropping all formality like that. When I feel like I know you better, I'll do it. And when I do, I want you to just call me Minato. All right?"

Musubi smiled and squeezed him just a little more before. "I understand, Minato-sama." They stayed standing that way for a short while longer, until Minato finally managed to clear his throat, not quite sure what to say in response. "So, um...do you want to try out that breathing technique while using a real punch, or do you just want to go home and eat dinner? Either one is fine by me, but we have to get up early tomorrow and find a new place to live, so..."

"I want to try the super breathing punch!" Musubi said, releasing Minato to clench her fists in excitement. "Please, show me how, Minato-sama!"

Privately, Minato was immensely relieved that Musubi was so easily distracted from the touchy subject of the Sekirei Plan by the prospect of becoming a better fighter. "All right then. First things first, make a fist for me. I want to see something..."

Musubi complied eagerly, raising her right hand and curling it into a ball. Minato gently took it into his larger hands and helped her make a tighter, more secure fist, reveling in the smoothness of her skin for a brief moment, then let it go. "Hold it like that, then breathe in and chamber the punch. When you breathe out, let the punch go. Join your breathing with your movement."

Slowly, Musubi did as she was told. First, she slipped into a stance, raising her clenched fist to about chest level while leaving her other hand open and in front of her face. She pulled her fist backward and took in the single breath that Minato had instructed her to take in. When she did so, a sudden spike of energy flooded her body. Her stance sagged a bit because of the sudden change, causing her legs to shift out of position slightly; Minato stepped in there, and pushed her booted feet back into position before nodding at her to continue. She looked at him and nodded once, then took another breath, this time anticipating the buildup of energy, then released the air in her lungs, and her punch, simultaneously, stepping into the attack just like Minato did.

The force from her blow caused an audible whiffing sound, and Minato felt his body tremble from a sudden wave of force that washed over him. He had seen this technique executed on a higher level many times before—his father was an expert at it and had demonstrated his mastery of focusing ki when he'd been teaching Minato and Yukari. Masaru had only needed about half a second to produce a punch that could dent a tree, and before he'd left on his training trip a year ago, he had gotten that time down to a third of a second. Yet Musubi's single, untrained punch, powered by her ki, had been as strong as Masaru's—maybe stronger—while staying on Minato's level in terms of speed. If, as Musubi had claimed, Minato's punch had made the air shake, Musubi's was making it rumble.

Bewildered, Minato shook his head and sighed. _Sekirei...just how strong are they? _

* * *

**6:01 PM**

After another ten minutes of practicing, Musubi's stomach started protesting at the lack of food, and so Minato led her out of the park at a brisk walk, taking another path to the exit. The paved walkway through the grass led to an area with a round fountain, a few benches, and lampposts cutting through the newly-coming dusk; a few people were milling about, either because they were passing through the park or simply enjoying a romantic evening. Musubi was walking behind Minato, her face all smiles; her breathing had fallen out of sync a few times during the punching exercises. but she'd basically gotten the hang of it and was looking forward to practicing more at another time. For his part, Minato was debating how far he would take these impromptu lessons; he most certainly knew enough about Rindoukan to teach Musubi everything Masaru had taught him, but it felt presumptuous to assume the role of teacher without his father's permission.

While he was debating the matter, he happened to look upward for a moment, if only to habitually survey his surroundings. Initially, he didn't see much aside from people walking out of the park, or one or two couples sharing a seat on a bench and leaning into each other; then, as he turned his gaze toward the fountain, he happened to see something particularly odd.

A woman in an oversized laboratory coat was sitting on one of the benches closest to the fountain, huddled into a ball with her knees pulled in to her chest. Her hair was brown, like Musubi's, but sandy-colored as opposed to chestnut. It was moderately short as well, barely reaching her shoulders, and unkempt enough that it went out in all directions and had a strand or two floating freely from the rest.

Most telling, though, was the strange mark on her forehead. It was made up of multiple parts; the biggest was the solid, stylized shape of a bird in profile, with one raised wing. Just below that bird was the yin-yang symbol of the taijitu, and on either side of the bird were two comma-shaped magatama each, with their tails turned toward the taijitu. The common feature between all elements of the design was the crimson coloring—the bird, the black parts of the taijitu, and the magatama all shared it, and the part of the circle that would have been white in a normal taijitu was instead the color of the woman's creamy, pale flesh.

Musubi noticed that Minato's attention had shifted toward the woman, and blinked a few times before her eyes lit up in understanding. "Minato-sama! That's a Seki—"

Minato flinched and clapped a hand over Musubi's mouth; she'd been speaking loudly, and he had no intention of revealing the plan in a crowd of people and paying the price for it. "Musubi-san, the plan's a secret, remember? So you can't talk about it so loudly when we're in public."

"Mm mmph, mmmmto-mmph," she replied, her voice muffled by his hand.

He sighed and removed his hand. "You have to say that again, I didn't understand a word of that."

Musubi blushed at her double mistake. "I'm sorry, Minato-sama. I got too excited. What I was going to say is that that woman over there is definitely a Sekirei. That mark on her forehead is a Sekirei crest." She pushed aside her ponytail and pointed to the nape of her neck; Minato craned his head to look at where she was pointing and saw the same mark, printed in black ink, on the outer robe of Musubi's clothing. "I have a smaller one with colors like hers between my shoulder blades, on my back. I don't know why hers is on her head, but she's definitely a Sekirei. You should go and talk to her!"

Minato recalled Minaka's words about having multiple Sekirei, and grimaced, viewing it in the context of Musubi's earlier declaration of love. "I don't know if it would be right to..."

Musubi gave him a surprisingly fierce stare, and his objections died on his tongue as she interrupted him by stepping forward and wagging her finger disapprovingly. "Minato-sama. The only thing crueler than taking a Sekirei from their Ashikabi is never giving them a chance to meet their Ashikabi. Talk to her. If she reacts to you, then she will have an Ashikabi and you will have another Sekirei. I will have to fight eventually, and having more Sekirei on our side means that our team will be stronger."

Though she was standing firmly where she was, Minato knew Musubi well enough to see that she wasn't upset with him so much as trying to get his attention. "Well, yes," he said, scratching the nape of his neck, "but...won't there be a lot of fighting between you all if I'm everyone's Ashikabi? I mean, you'll all want my attention, and..." _And it'll be like I dropped into a bad harem anime,_ he thought to himself, suppressing the urge to grit his teeth again. _Not to mention that I'd be doing something that __that bastard Minaka approves of. Neither idea is particularly appealing._

Musubi folded her arms sternly, then nodded once, and put her hand on Minato's chest while using her other one to put his hand on hers. "Minato-sama. Do you remember that feeling that we shared when you winged me today? Someone very dear to me told me once that she wanted all Sekirei to feel that bond. When it became impossible for her to make that happen, I decided that I would do it instead. All of us Sekirei need that bond in order to become stronger, and I won't let a single one go without experiencing it." She let her hand linger there for a moment more, then removed it, and shoved him towards the girl with a half-smile on her face. "So go talk to her!"

Minato stumbled a bit at the strength in the push, but regained his footing without too much incident and gave Musubi a flat stare (which she returned with a wave) before shaking his head and walking up to the mysterious Sekirei. _She'll probably just say "I'm not reacting to you" and then I can leave,_ he thought to himself, keeping his body loose so as not to accidentally intimidate her or weird her out._ No big deal. _It wasn't until he got within arm's reach that he saw that the Sekirei wasn't wearing anything _except_ the lab coat, and that it had quite a few spots of blood on it. Her legs and the visible parts of her arms were scratched and dirty, and there were noticeable bags beneath her eyes. Despite all of that, she focused on him with a clarity that her sleepy expression didn't imply she had.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I can offer you nothing."

Minato was taken aback by the softness of her tone and how melancholy she sounded, and actually took a step away from her. Most bizarrely, though, he couldn't get any kind of readings from her posture. She was simply...there. She didn't shrink away from him, put herself on guard, or anything. "...what?"

"The girl that sent you over here is a Sekirei," the woman continued, taking a moment to stop staring into space and focus on his face. "You are her Ashikabi. She told you that I too am a Sekirei. However, I am a discarded number. Discarded like trash, incapable of being winged."

Minato stared at her for a few moments, trying to come up with some sort of response to that. From what he understood, winging was part of getting an Ashikabi, and so if she couldn't be winged, she couldn't have one. Was she distraught about not being allowed to participate in the contest, or was it something else? _From what Musubi said to me, an Ashikabi is effectively a Sekirei's soulmate,_ he thought, briefly closing his eyes._ If "winging" is a part of the process of getting an Ashikabi, and if this Sekirei can't be winged, then she thinks she has no chance to find that person. _

He opened his eyes and looked at her again. Her brown eyes were still focused on him, and her blank expression (both on her face and in her posture) hadn't changed in the slightest. She was clearly curious as to why he was still there, but she wouldn't ask him a word, he could tell. _Regardless of all of that...Sekirei or not, she's still a person, Minato. If nothing else, maybe you can just take her along and help her find a place to stay._

"What's your name?" he asked her.

She finally blinked for the first time that Minato could recall. "Akitsu."

"How long have you been sitting here?"

She shifted on the chair, but there was no emotion behind the action; it simply was something she did. "I don't know."

Minato frowned slightly. "How did you get here?"

Akitsu said nothing for a few moments, and then lowered her head slightly, her gaze becoming unfocused through her half-opened eyes. Though the woman emoted far less than anyone he'd met before, Minato could immediately tell that this was, for her, a strong show of some kind of feeling. "I...ran away. Because I am a discarded number, I was going to be..."

Though she didn't finish the thought, that was enough for Minato to quit restraining his natural compassion, and he frowned, drawing closer to her. "Well, I don't care about what kind of number you are or aren't. You're hurt, tired, and probably hungry. Please, come with me so we can get you taken care of."

He extended a hand towards her, and after a moment, she took it, gently placing hers into his.

"Now wait one moment," said a young male voice behind Minato. "That girl there isn't going anywhere with you. I saw her first, she's my prize."

Minato's eyebrow twitched, and he turned his head to look at the intruder. The young man that had interrupted was of fair height, with brown hair. He was dressed in a pristine white suit, trimmed with gold around the sleeves, with a ruffled ascot at his neck, and carried himself with an air of clear, calm dignity despite his young age (if he had to guess, Minato would peg him as a high-school student at best). Despite that, there was something hungry in his hazel eyes as he stared past Minato and at Akitsu.

"And you are?" Minato asked, his voice calm but his gaze hostile.

"Hayato Mikogami," the young man said, smiling pleasantly as he examined his nails, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Minato—not out of fear, but as an insult. "And you're standing between me and my newest toy. If you don't mind, I'd like you to step away from her. Otherwise, I'm going to have to have my friend deal with you."

A shadow passed over Minato's brow as he let go of Akitsu's hand and stared at Mikogami with naked hostility. "Let me tell you something, you little brat," he said, his voice getting icy. "You are pushing your luck. If _you _don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you left before _I_ decide to _deal_ with _you_."

Mikogami sighed, shaking his head as if Minato was a child throwing a tantrum, and snapped his fingers. In the blinking of an eye, a tall man with greyish-brown hair, dressed in black with a pale orange scarf around his neck and shoulders, was standing between Minato and Akitsu, pushing Minato away with a firm shove. Minato, for his part, was completely taken aback, as he hadn't even heard the intruder move between him and Akitsu. _How did he...?_

"Mutsu," Mikogami said, addressing the newcomer, his smile becoming cruel. "Take the new one to the car."

Mutsu nodded and reached for Akitsu's hand, but failed to notice the woman's eyes narrowing slightly. Before he could take it, she slapped it away; Mutsu seemed untroubled by this, and simply reached out again, much more quickly. This time, Akitsu's response was more fierce; the air around her grew cold when his hand was closing around her wrist, and Mutsu stepped back as an icicle pierced the ground near his foot. The man grunted in annoyance, but did nothing as Akitsu stared straight at Minato, who was still glaring down at Mikogami;. As a result of his attention to Mikogami, Minato hadn't seen Akitsu attack Mutsu, but heard Mutsu's grunt and retreat. Now that he'd had a moment to get over his surprise, Minato understood exactly who Mikogami was and what was going on, especially with Mutsu's silent entrance.

"You're an Ashikabi," Minato said. "And from what I can tell, spoiled rotten." He heard footsteps drawing closer, and internally, smiled to himself as Musubi came to his side, her posture strong and neutral. The concern was clear in her eyes, but she was regarding Mikogami with suspicion, and gave Mutsu the same treatment.

"Minato-sama. Is there a problem here?" Her tone was calm and even, but her fists were clenched and shaking gently. She was clearly ready to spring into action the moment she needed to; she'd probably seen Mutsu push Minato back. Mikogami briefly looked at Musubi before turning his attention back to Minato. "And you're one of us too," the young man said, folding his arms. "I admit, she's a cute one, but my Mutsu is not a man to trifle with. Step aside and let us take the girl. She'll be better off with me."

Minato fully gave up on any pretense of trying to avoid conflict (though by Minato's own admission, negotiations broke down the moment Mikogami decided to pretend that the dirt under his fingers was more important than looking at who he was speaking to), and stepped closer to Mikogami, using his height advantage and build to increase his intimidation factor. "You wanna give orders? Allow me to give you one. Piss off."

Mutsu's heavy hand then settled on Minato's shoulder, squeezing dangerously, and something told Minato that he didn't want to look at the Sekirei's face at that particular moment. Though he was positive that Mutsu was likely much stronger than him, Minato remained unfazed—Akitsu was not going to be beholden to some jackass brat who thought he could collect Sekirei like stamps. Musubi tensed as well, fully prepared to throw a punch at Mutsu, and the air grew heavy with the tension of building aggression. However, before things could get bad, Akitsu's voice cut through it.

"I will not go with you." She pointed at Minato. "Him. No one else."

"But all he offered you was a place to stay," Mikogami said, oblivious to the atmosphere as he extended a hand in Akitsu's direction. "He didn't offer you a purpose, or a real place to live. I can give you all of that. It's better if you come with me. I'll treat you the way you deserve."

Akitsu simply looked at him. Though her face was expressionless aside from her knotted eyebrows, pure enmity oozed off of her body, even though she was still huddled in on herself. It gave the appearance of a child sulking in the corner and staring angrily at the world, but even a fool could see that any tantrums Akitsu threw would be a _little _more dangerous than a minute or so of angry yelling. "You know nothing about what I deserve. He does."

Musubi looked at Akitsu with owlish eyes, but said nothing, reading the tension in the atmosphere and deciding not to speak. At length, Mikogami scoffed and shook his head, but gave Mutsu a meaningful glance; Mutsu's hand came off of Minato's shoulder without a single word. At that point, Minato's hand flew up, and before Mutsu or anyone else could react, his clenched fist was inches away from Mikogami's face. "If I ever see you again, you're not going to like the consequences." Minato's voice was calm and measured, but everything in his facial expression screamed _I do not like you and I am not happy that I am not beating you into a paste right now._ "Namely, my fist breaking your face, followed by the rest of you. And Musubi will hold off "your Mutsu" until I get a chance to do it."

Minato could hear Mutsu's feet shift as if he were preparing to do something, but Musubi immediately showed her support of Minato by raising her fists. Mikogami simply pushed Minato's hand down and sighed, giving one last, longing look towards Akitsu before walking away. "Come along, Mutsu," the boy said, not even sounding annoyed in the slightest. "If we make too much of a fuss now, we'll be breaking the rules of the game. We can try again later."

Mutsu sighed, and followed behind his Ashikabi, deliberately looking forward the entire time. As he passed Minato, he spoke up for the first time, his voice a calm baritone. "That threat you delivered applies to you as much as it does to Mikogami. I will not allow him to be harmed. Underestimate my power at cost to your life."

And with that, both Sekirei and Ashikabi walked past the fountain and into the night. Musubi shook her head as she watched them leave, then turned back to Minato and Akitsu, smiling broadly as if she hadn't been a part of a tense standoff. "Well, Minato-sama? How did it go? Did she begin to react before that jerk came over?"

Minato had to give Akitsu credit; if Musubi's question had struck a nerve, it didn't show, as the sandy-haired woman didn't say a word in response, only sparing a moment to look at Musubi before focusing on Minato again. "We'll talk about that later, Musubi-san," Minato said. "We need to go back to the apartment. Akitsu-san hasn't eaten anything in a while, and she's exhausted. If she isn't taken care of she might get sick."

Musubi scratched the side of her head at that remark. "Minato-sama, Sekirei don't get sick from human diseases. My adjuster said so."

Though he was tempted to ask just what an adjuster was, Minato put that thought on hold when Akitsu's hand slid back into his. He felt it shake slightly, and as she slowly got up from the bench, he saw her waver slightly where she stood before she let his hand go. "Well, Sekirei can definitely get tired," he replied. "And right now, Akitsu-san is more or less dead on her feet. We need to take her home so she can get some rest."

Musubi looked at Akitsu for a moment, and after seeing that the sandy-haired Sekirei was doing her level best to stay standing, nodded. "OK, Minato-sama. Let's go then."

With that, they left. But neither Minato nor Musubi noticed that Akitsu's gaze stayed firmly locked on Minato's back the entire time.

* * *

**6:20 PM**

Once they'd arrived at the apartment, Minato's first order of business was to send Akitsu to the shower to clean herself off a bit while he made a separate serving of dinner for himself—he figured that if most Sekirei ate as much as Musubi did, it was likely that between her and Akitsu, the meal he'd cooked for him and Musubi to eat earlier would be finished as soon as he set it down at the table. Better for them to have all of that food to themselves.

Once Akitsu was rinsed off, Minato gave Musubi one of his old gray sweatsuits and asked her to give them to Akitsu before the other Sekirei came out of the shower. A few moments later, the quiet Sekirei walked out of the bathroom and into the dining room, her curvy figure and fairly large bust concealed under the bagginess of the outfit.

"How are you feeling?" Minato asked, setting down the two large bowls of curry rice that he'd prepared earlier; one was put in front of Musubi while the other was put on her left side.

"I am well, Minato-sama," she replied quietly.

The fact that she referred to him in the same way that Musubi did didn't escape his notice, but Minato decided he'd rather approach that once she'd eaten. Instead, he patted the cushion next to where Musubi was sitting and staring at the bowl of curry in front of her. "Good. Come over here and take some of this. It'll warm you up."

Like a ghost, Akitsu slid over to the place at the table laid out for her and sat there. Without further prompting from Minato, she pulled her bowl to her and began to eat. To his surprise, she matched Musubi in sheer speed but had a far more refined way of getting her food into her mouth; Minato was watching her directly, and yet all he could see was her scooping up the rice before it disappeared in the blink of an eye—without leaving the sparest of crumbs.

_I guess Sekirei are just inclined to eat like machines,_ he thought, scratching his head and moving back into to finish the soup he was making for himself. Musubi was demolishing her food in the usual way, though she was at least stopping to pick up and eat some stray rice that flew off of her plate now and then. _Some are more efficient and orderly than others. _

Moments later, he joined the two Sekirei at the table, slowly chipping away at his meal while Musubi and Akitsu finished their servings. As soon as they finished, Minato swallowed a mouthful of soup and said, "Musubi, could you pick up the plates and forks, please?"

"Of course, Minato-sama," Musubi replied, and whisked up her plate as well as Akitsu's before she went to the sink and began to wash.

With her food gone, Akitsu shifted slightly and put her hands on her lap, staring forward impassively while Minato slurped down his soup. Every now and then, he would look at her, but she wouldn't return the glance, simply staring forward. Eventually he put down his bowl and folded his arms as he looked at her. "Akitsu-san, are you sure you're all right? You're just sitting there."

For the first time since they'd come home, she turned directly towards him, her eyes unblinking. Looking at her directly, and able to concentrate on her entire body without noticing a lack of decent clothing, Minato realized once again that she lacked the normal physical responses that most people did; she was almost inhumanly composed, never flinching or shifting in the slightest unless she deliberately did so. This odd behavior seemed to suit her just fine, but he was sure that if he was speaking to anyone else, it would have been eerie to not see them as much as twitch. "I am fine, Minato-sama. I am simply waiting for your next command."

Minato frowned. "Why?"

Her gaze stayed fixed on him. "As a discarded number, I have no Ashikabi. Because you took me in, you are the closest thing I have to one. Therefore, I will follow your every command to the letter unless it is better for your safety for me to disobey."

The intensity in those words made Minato pause and reconsider his response. _It makes sense that she would latch on to me like this if she thinks it'll convince me to treat her like my Sekirei. _He ducked his head for a moment and rubbed his forehead a few times with his fingertips. _And really, even if she isn't my Sekirei, there's no way in hell I can just leave her abandoned. I just need to try and reinforce that she doesn't have to act like my Sekirei to stay with me._

"Listen, Akitsu-san," he said, raising his head, "you don't need to do that. I won't leave you behind or abandon you just because you're not acting like 'my Sekirei'. I'll help you for as long as you want my help, and when you're ready to leave, you can."

Akitsu didn't respond to that, and continued to look at him. There was no doubt or confusion in her eyes, either; she either didn't care about what he said or wasn't listening to him. Unnerved by her passivity, he tried again. "You're not my servant or my slave, Akitsu-san, so I don't want you to act like you are."

"That does not matter, Minato-sama," she replied, slowly shaking her head.

Minato barely restrained the frustrated moan working its way out of his mouth before his phone started to ring. He let out a short puff of breath through his nostrils and answered it without checking the ID. "Hello?"

"_Minato, are you all right?"_ Takami's voice asked, buzzing with anger that was no reflection of the call quality. _"Did that sneering bastard Minaka call you already? If he threatened you, just tell me and I'll kill him right now!"_

"Mom? Wait, hold on a second, how did you know that he...?"

After he said that, the line went dead quiet for a few moments before Takami spoke again. _"So you did hear from him." _Her voice was flat and resigned, but Minato could tell that her anger had only ebbed slightly. She was bound to explode again fairly soon if he pushed the right buttons._ "How much did he tell you?"_

Though suspicious of what she'd meant by _How much did he tell you, _Minato gave a short summary of his conversation with Minaka, and while she stayed silent the entire time, Minato knew that he'd probably prodded his mother back into a rage (albeit, not intentionally). Once he finished speaking, Takami took a slow, shuddering breath, and let it out as calmly as she could. _"...Ideally, Minato, you never would have found out about any of this,"_ she said at last. _"I...I didn't want you involved. I should have been the only one that had anything to do with Sekirei in our family."_

Slowly, Minato stood up, feeling a knot in his chest as the sneaking suspicion in his head was confirmed straight-up. "So you're saying that you have something to do with this Sekirei plan that Minaka was babbling about. How involved are you, Mom?"

Takami sighed again, and Minato heard a few muffled clicks come from the speaker; she was likely lighting up a cigarette, which meant that she was well and truly stressed out. _"It goes back a very long way, Minato, and I don't want to discuss all the particulars right now. Suffice it to say I've done enough to be as guilty as Minaka is." _She followed that sentence with a few muffled puffs of breath, confirming for Minato that she was indeed 'enjoying' a cigarette.

"If you disagree with Minaka so much, why are you still with MBI?" he asked, his voice getting a bit louder. She may have been skirting the issue, but he could tell by her flat tone that whatever she'd done was really and truly not something she wanted to discuss. "Did he threaten you, too?"

"_Not me!" _Takami replied, her voice gaining an angry bite in response to Minato's persistence. _"He called you, and threatened you, didn't he? Use your brain and take a guess as to who he would use as leverage to make me cooperate."_

Minato made no audible response to that, allowing the angry, fearful clench in his stomach to silence him, and that was all Takami needed to hear to understand that her son had connected the dots. Or at least, connected the ones that she'd wanted to. She didn't want him to find out about Masaru. Not yet.

"_So, which Sekirei did you wing?" _she asked.

Minato could tell that she was simply trying to change the subject, but didn't bother pushing the issue further. If he did, he was in for more trouble than he could handle the next time he saw her. Instead, he scratched his head and sighed as he answered. "Musubi. I think she's number...88, she said? Also, I found one named Akitsu in the park. She said she was 'discarded', and implied that something was going to happen to her before she ran away from MBI." On the other side of the line, Takami choked and coughed, causing Minato to flinch in alarm. "What happened, Mom? Are you all right?"

"_Go put Akitsu back where you found her,"_ she replied, sputtering around the smoke that was probably clogging up her lungs. _"You can't have her around you. She's dangerous, Minato!"_

"She was also alone and beat up when I found her, and some punk Ashikabi was going to abduct her when I was ready to bring her home and get her fed," Minato said. A slight creaking sound came from the hand that held his phone up to his ear. "What the hell did you expect me to do, leave her in the park to freeze overnight? Or get taken by him?"

Akitsu blinked and looked directly at Minato, but he didn't notice as Takami responded to him as irritably as he had to her. _"With her powers, freezing would be the least of her concerns. Minato, she's a discarded number for a reason—her power is dangerously strong and she can't be winged. If you keep her around you, you're going to get hurt."_

In response, Minato clenched a fist and let his voice gain a growling edge. "I don't care!" he said, doing his best to avoid shouting. "Akitsu needed my help, and somewhere to stay. Whatever reasons MBI gave her to run away don't matter to me. Their reasons for wanting her back don't matter to me. As long as she wants my help, I'm going to give it to her, period!"

A few quiet moments passed before Takami spoke up, much more subdued than she had been before. Before she continued, more puffing sounds came over the line, and Minato could see it as plain as day; his mother was likely rubbing her forehead in consternation as the cigarette dangled loosely from her lips. _"...if that's what you want, then, fine." _She took in a long breath, which was clearly meant to take a drag from the cigarette. _"You'll be twenty soon enough. If you're going to be an adult soon, I might as well treat you like it. Just be prepared for what could happen to you."_

"That's fine," Minato replied, slowly relaxing his body. "Really, I have other things to worry about. Like finding somewhere else to live. My landlord is going to skin me alive for having two girls sharing an apartment space with me in a singles complex."

"_Haven't you started looking for a new place yet? You should have started once you winged Musubi."_

Minato resisted the urge to slap a hand to his forehead. "It just happened today, Mom. Like 'not even two hours ago' today. When was I supposed to start my little house hunt, as soon as she kissed me?"

Another puff of air came from Minato's speakers, both a sigh and a release of smoke. _"Fair point. Tell you what, let me give you a leg up. I know someone that would probably be willing to let you stay with her. Get a pen and paper or something, so you can get the address."_

Minato did as he was asked, and once he gave his mother the go-ahead, she rattled off an address for him. From the sound of it it was in the northern part of the city, a boarding house by the name of Izumo.

"_Landlady's name is Miya Asama," _she said. _"We've got history together, and she knows about the Sekirei Plan already. If she doesn't bring my name up in connection to you, then don't mention it; she and I have had our disagreements in the past and the last thing I want is for that history to ruin your shot at getting a place to stay. Just be aware that she's not likely to accept any money you give her if it comes from Musubi's MBI card, and that she is not going to want to discuss the Sekirei Plan directly, if at all."_

"I hear you, Mom," Minato said, "but you said that Musubi-san's got what?"

"_Did I stutter?"_ Takami replied. _"Musubi should have a black MBI VIP credit card. It's supposed to help cover your expenses for food—I'm sure you've noticed by now that Sekirei eat enough to feed a small country. If we didn't provide it the Ashikabi would likely be broke by the time the plan was done with."_

"My empty wallet has plenty of reason to agree with that," Minato said with a grimace, "but I don't know if she has a card or not. She didn't mention it to me."

Conveniently, Musubi chose that moment to walk back into the room, though she looked rather dismayed since the front of her robe was extremely wet. Minato took one look at her, sighed to himself, and added "teach Musubi how to wash dishes" to his list of things to get done eventually. "Musubi-san, do you still have your MBI card?"

Musubi pressed her lips together for a moment and squeezed her eyes shut, then gently knocked on the side of her head a few times. "Ah, no, Minato-sama! I lost it when those girls from earlier attacked me. I'm sorry!"

Minato smiled, and gently shook his head. All things considered, it was probably better that way considering that wherever his mother was sending him wouldn't accept the money from the card anyway. "It's fine. I was just curious."

Musubi's face lit up with a smile as well; Minato would have responded were it not for a set of loud knocks at the door. _"That's probably MBI with clothing for Musubi," _Takami said. _"Go get it, don't keep them waiting. Also remember that Yukari will be in town soon, maybe as early as tomorrow, and she might need your help getting settled before she starts going to school. You should get to Izumo House as quickly as possible to see if you can move in there before she calls you to help her."_

Minato shifted his phone to the crook of his right shoulder and craned his neck to keep it close to his ear. "Tomorrow? What dd she do, break open her piggy bank and buy an express ticket into Shintou Teitou?"

Takami's reply was carefree enough to imply a shrug on her part. _"I don't know. But really, I don't blame her. Yukari won't admit it, but she missed you, Minato. You are the only person that can keep her sharp while your father's gone, after all."_

The reminder of his father stung a bit, but he knew that she didn't mean to hurt him by mentioning Masaru. If anything, he was heartened by the fact that she continued to refer to his father in the present tense. It served as a reminder to him that she believed he was fine and would come back, which in turn helped Minato believe the same.

When he opened the door, he was somewhat surprised by the size of the dark-suited man that stood before him. However, MBI's agent said nothing of import to Minato; he simply pushed the cardboard box he carried into the Ashikabi's hands and left, closing the door as he did so. Minato turned to his left and dropped the box on the ground as gently as he could before straightening out his head and saying, "Musubi, your new clothes are here, you can change if you like."

"_Keep in mind," _Takami said, _"that they didn't bring any for Akitsu, since she's not a part of the plan. Looks like you're going shopping tomorrow, unless you want to wait and ask Yukari for help?"_

Minato rolled his eyes as he jabbed his fingers into the tape sealing the box open and pulled upward, exposing the clothes inside. "No way. She'll want to know why I'm asking and then I'll have to feed her some kind of lie. Better if I resolve it myself." He then looked down at the contents of the container, and sure enough, several sets of Musubi's outfit, complete with extra sparring gloves, were sitting inside, with a black credit card sitting on top of the pile. However, they also shared space with several links of chain and what appeared to be a low-cut kimono outfit with a black sash. There was a note sitting on top of the latter set of outfits, attached to one of the chains. Minato scanned it briefly, and then made a choking sound in his throat as he read every word.

_These are for Akitsu. She has a nice figure, you ought to show that off.  
__~Minaka_

"_Minato, what is it_?" Takami asked, her voice echoing her concern about the sudden silence.

"Mom, your boss expects Akitsu to wear an outfit that will get her arrested for public indecency. Do you mind if I kill him and then flush the remains down a toilet?"

A rush of static swept over the phone as Takami sighed. _"I don't mind, son, but I'm certain he'd find a way to either come back to life or crawl out of a manhole if you tried it. Don't bother."_

As if summoned by the very mention of her name, Akitsu glided over to where Minato was standing and looked down at the box of clothing. She looked down at the note for a few moments, then took up one of the lengths of chain and a matching outfit before going to the bathroom as quietly as she had come over to the box.

Minato paled immediately. "Akitsu-san! Please don't put that on!"

She stopped and stared forward for a moment, then turned towards Minato. "This clothing is satisfactory, and if I wear it, you will not have to spend money on clothes for me, Minato-sama." With that, she walked into the bathroom and shut the door before Minato could protest again. Minato groaned and turned away from the bathroom, rubbing his forehead with his free hand before moving back to where he'd been sitting before and settling himself back down. "She's so contrary," he muttered to himself. "One minute she says that she'll listen to whatever I ask of her, and the next she does what she wants when I ask her to do something. She's so...hot-and-cold."

On the other side of the line, he heard his mother take another drag on her cigarette. _"It's your own fault for trying to talk her out of free clothing, Minato. You grew up with two women in your house; you should understand how we work."_

Minato gave no response to that, and instead watched as Musubi finally responded to his call and went over to the box to see what was inside. She smiled as she picked up one of her fresh outfits, and her happiness made Minato smile as well...until she began to take off her top, exposing her bare breasts. "What the—Musubi-san! You don't wear...?"

Musubi blinked, then looked at Minato, who had his eyes squeezed shut while pinching his nose. A small trickle of blood was seeping between his fingers, and his face had gone beet-red. "Don't wear what, Minato-sama?"

Takami heard enough of the conversation on her end to sigh through Minato's phone again.

* * *

_Author's Notes**  
**_

_This one is early, because as I mentioned in Chapter 1, I planned on releasing it assuming that I got the chapter I was working on finished. Since then, I've finished that chapter and am already working on Chapter 8, so this goes out to you all as a reward. If things go according to plan, two Fridays from now, Chapter 3 will be out for your viewing pleasure, and I would have completed another chapter or two. Once I get the majority of the story written, I can switch to weekly releases and that will undoubtedly make people happier._

_Something I will point out here is that Minato's fighting style, Rindoukan, is fictional, but did not originate in this story. The series that it appeared in is a fairly popular fighting game series, and the character that uses the style in that series is one of my favorites because she's powerful as cuss even if she's on the slow side. So, in a sense, this is a little bit of a crossover, but not very much of one._

_I also encourage you, the readers, to play close attention to certain details in the story. I'm doing my best to keep internal continuity consistent, and I will strive to foreshadow certain things before they happen, hopefully better than I did in Substitute School. For the most part, you can assume that if a twist happens, I planned it in advance._

_Review Response (Chapter 1)_

_First, if your comment was something along the lines of "this is amazing/nice", I thank you sincerely. I hope to keep up the hype as we go on. Just be aware that I will not be able to answer your question in the next chapter's Review Response, or via PM, if you ask something that the story might or will discuss in a later chapter. That includes "will Minato wing this Sekirei" and "Is this character related to that character"._

_Rc1212: Unfortunately it's difficult to answer that question precisely at this point in time (because we haven't seen a lot of Sekirei to compare against). Suffice it to say for now that against the likes of Karasuba, Mutsu, or a Sekirei that can control an element, Minato would not win unless they let him. Against Musubi, she'd have to hold back a little bit to keep the fight even, because there are limits to how quickly he can respond even if he knows what she's going to do next._

_rajvir: I believe this chapter answers that question for you quite well._

_All right. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you all later._

_~ZS_


	3. A Northern Garden

_**Shintou Teitou, Japan: Teitou Tower, Takami Sahashi's Office**_

_**2019**_

_**5:30 PM**_

_Takami's office was bare of creature comforts for one reason and one reason only—she never wanted an excuse to be there longer than she needed to be. The place itself wasn't tied to her worst memories of working at MBI, since she'd only recently moved into it, but Minaka had generally been harassing her to stay on top of work more than usual since she'd been promoted to medical manager of the Sekirei once the Plan was fully underway (that, and a few reports of incompetent tunings had put Minaka on edge and caused her to step up and handle things). After having the Sekirei in custody for so long, their biology was no longer a big mystery, but setting up a medical facility to treat them quickly and well in the future would take some time. Minaka knew that if anyone could create such a facility quickly, it would be his estranged lover, thanks to her obsessive micromanagement and organization skills._

_There were only two things Takami actively enjoyed about her office. One was the view of Shintou Teitou's bustling downtown area, which was surprisingly relaxing even when the night sky was lit up by the flashing lights of the buildings. The other was the fact that no one bothered her about the pervasive smell of tobacco rising from the dull brown carpet and off-white walls, even when she was stressed out of her mind and started chain-smoking in front of them. Presently, she was settled into her large black chair as she took care of unimportant paperwork, her white eyebrows drawn into a surly furrow. Minato had called her earlier in the day to tell her that he hadn't made it into Shinteidai, and she still had to see to the adjustment of a few more Sekirei. On top of that, she'd been calling Masaru all day just to hear from him; he had come back from his training trip with Minato only a few days before Minato had to sit for the exam, and Takami was just annoyed enough to rip Masaru a new one about keeping her son out on a super long training trip that interfered so badly with his studies._

_It was then that her office phone began to ring, breaking her stream of thoughts with its shrill noise. She took a moment to look down at the caller id, and frowned when she saw the name listed there. Grunting out several foul curses, Takami smacked her hand down onto the receiver and put it to her ear. "The hell do you want now, Minaka? I'm busy trying to work out schedules for Sekirei adjustments, and if you want them done in time for your stupid plan, you need to shut up and let me work."_

_Her face went white as Masaru's voice came over the line, dry, rough, and pained. **"Takacchi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean t'...didn't mean t' do nothing but talk to him. Guess I got a...little worked up." **He coughed a few times, and then the line went deadly silent._

"_What?" Takami shouted. "Masaru, what are you talking about? Where are you now? What happened to you?"_

_The line went quiet for a few moments, and then she got a reply. **"Now, now, Takami. You should know better than to disturb the injured,"** Minaka's voice replied. **"I'm afraid that your dear Masaru just fell asleep. I told Karasuba to take it easy on him, but you know how she is. It doesn't help that he actually managed to get in a good hit on her." **He sighed. **"I've never seen anyone get so excited about having their lip barely split open, but again, you know Karasuba."**_

_Takami's teeth began to grind down the part of the cigarette that was pinched in her mouth, filling it with a bitter taste that matched her feelings perfectly. Minaka had always skirted the line between playful threats and doing real harm, but this...this was too much. "Hiroto Minaka, you slimy bastard! What the fuck did you do to my husband? Answer me!"_

"_**Last I checked, neither of you two exchanged wine cups," **Minaka said, completely ignoring her rage, **"so I don't believe you're married to him any more than you were married to me." **It was then that Takami realized that his voice was lacking its characteristic blustering, bombastic tone. He was speaking very softly and directly, something that she'd never heard from him before. **"Anyway, Takami, I think that this is a good time to remind you of just who happens to be the boss in this partnership. Since good Masaru here took so much time to come here the big city, we'll be keeping him here to have some fun with Karasuba now and then. You can just go on as always."**_

_Ashes were spilling freely from the trembling, burning end of Takami's cigarette. A sharp pain began to twinge in her throat, as if she were forcibly swallowing something down. "You..."_

"_**I also think that Karasuba might want to take a trip out to Wakayama sometime soon," **Minaka added, as if he'd just thought of something he'd forgotten. **"Or she might maybe take a walk around Shintou Teitou, stop by that part of town where the ronin apartments are."**_

_It was at that point that Takami's cigarette just dropped from her mouth outright, landing on the desk, and the receiver she held began to shake. "Again," she whispered, feeling her shoulders sag in despondence. "You stupid..." Her voice cracked briefly, but then it sharpened. "You stupid piece of shit! Just say it and quit dressing it up! If you're going to step up your little blackmail game, call it what it is!"_

"_**Well, you can already tell 'what it is', so why be redundant,"** Minaka said. **"You don't even have to worry about telling Minato and Yukari some kind of story if they ask you about where he went. From what Masaru said to Karasuba, he told them both that he was going on a long training trip before he showed up here. Just corroborate that when they ask and all will be well."**_

_After a few moments of silence, Takami finally found her tongue again. "...I hate you," she whispered. "I will hate you until you die, Hiroto Minaka. Do you hear me?"_

"_**I hear you. The question is, do I care? And I believe you know the answer. Now, we won't speak of this again. Perhaps once both you and Masaru have become a bit tamer, I'll let him go back to our children and play at being a good daddy again. Until then, Karasuba and the Disciplinary Squad will keep him entertained."**_

_The line clicked twice and went dead._

_Takami stared at the phone as if it were a venomous snake wrapped around her hand, then slammed it into its cradle so hard that the fake wood on the desk cracked audibly and her cigarette dropped to the carpet, where she crushed it underfoot with a loud stomp. After a moment, her shoulders began to shake, and she pressed her forehead to the desk, looking like a child told to put their head down for misbehaving in class._

_Moments later, muffled sobs filled the otherwise quiet room._

* * *

_**~Petal 3: A Northern Garden~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Japan: Shopping District**

**2020**

**Thursday, 11:00 AM**

If there was anything Minato was clearly understanding now that he'd been an Ashikabi for over twelve hours, it was this: Sekirei complicated everything.

Waking up that morning had been a rather interesting experience; he'd already given Musubi his futon and Akitsu the couch the night before, and so he had rolled out a sleeping bag for himself and made do with that. The first thing he realized as soon as his eyes opened up was that both Sekirei wrapped up around him, blankets and all; Musubi was hugging his arm while Akitsu was grabbing one of his legs. As a result, his plans to hide the lewd clothing Akitsu had been given failed miserably; once he started moving, she woke up, as did Musubi—though the more energetic Sekirei was surprisingly sedate and drowsy when she first came to. When he'd gone to check the box that MBI had given him, he found that all of Akitsu's outfits and the accompanying chain links were gone; by the time he'd turned to call for Akitsu, she was in front of him, wearing one of the sets again.

Just as it had bothered him when she'd first worn it, it had bothered him to see it again, especially now that he wasn't feeling as addled at the chain of events that had brought the two women to live with him. The white kimono top that Akitsu was wearing was somehow even lower-cut than it had appeared in the box, hanging loosely off her shoulders, and the dress-like bottom clung tightly to her hips and legs, accentuating her curves in a definitively scandalous way. The biggest offender for him, though, were the chains. One set wrapped around her neck, then dipped into her cleavage; another line of links passed across the front of her chest, attached to the dress as a way of keeping her shirt together. Combined with the fact that MBI hadn't seen fit to even send along brassieres for the Sekirei (as Musubi's little show had proven last night), Akitsu's appearance was basically made to attract all the wrong kind of attention. It had taken much cajoling and pleading for her to swap it for one of his cleaner, newer sweatsuits. Even though it did a decent job of making her much more presentable, Minato could tell from the slightly increased reticence she displayed at breakfast that she didn't like having to wear it.

That was why, after cleaning up the table, Minato suggested a mid-morning shopping trip before they returned to the apartment to start packing his things. Musubi eagerly agreed, and Akitsu nodded her consent, leaving Minato in a fairly optimistic mood. Then he went downstairs to speak to Ootori and explained his situation in the most roundabout way he possibly could.

The old man, between loud curses and pelting Minato with random office supplies, gave Minato exactly seventy-two hours to get out before the police got involved.

Needless to say, the conversation had left Minato both aggravated and nursing a fairly mild headache from the swears that Ootori had tossed at his ears (and the stapler that had caught him right above his left eye). Nevertheless, he'd put on a bold smile for the girls and waved off Musubi's concern at his initial grumpy expression when he'd returned to the apartment; instead, he'd thrown on his shoes, grabbed Musubi's MBI card, and led the two girls outside without slowing down, all too intent on getting them the clothing that they needed before he got out of the complex forever.

Now that they were out on the streets, listening to the gentle bustle of the crowds downtown, Minato felt much more at ease as he took the girls into a variety clothing shop. _The real challenge is finding something similar to that monstrosity, only better cut, _Minato thought to himself as they entered the store and cool air washed over them. _Akitsu clearly likes the clothes, most likely for their design. If they weren't so scandalous, I wouldn't mind letting her wear them. _

"Akitsu-san," he said aloud, "I want you to look for an outfit that you would like wearing outside as we go through the store. Musubi-san, you too. Though in your case we only have to worry about pajamas or house-wear, really."

Musubi nodded eagerly, while Akitsu replied with a soft "Understood". Minato noted that the latter seemed unusually withdrawn, even for her, and as they moved down the main aisle, looking for the sleepwear section, Musubi looked at Akitsu and frowned a bit. "Minato-sama," she said, stopping in front of them and turning around, "I think you and Akitsu-san need to have a talk." Both Minato and Akitsu blinked at her sudden forwardness, and Musubi folded her arms, mistaking their silence for permission to keep talking. "I don't know what you said to her last night, Minato-sama, but I really think it hurt her feelings, and it doesn't feel nice to do something together when everyone has hurt feelings. So, you and Akitsu-san should talk it out before we go buying things."

Minato scratched the back of his head, while Akitsu slightly lowered hers, refusing to meet either Minato or Musubi's eyes. At length, Akitsu said, "There is nothing wrong. We should complete this trip quickly so that Minato-sama can go back to the apartment and begin packing."

"We don't know each other very well yet, Akitsu-san, but I think I can tell when you're trying not to share your real feelings—and right now, you're trying really, really hard," Musubi replied. She put a hand on her own chest. "If there's something you want to say to Minato-sama, say it honestly and he'll listen to you." She then looked to her Ashikabi with a bright, beaming smile. "Isn't that right, Minato-sama?"

Minato saw what she was trying to do, and nodded, making a note to thank Musubi for interceding later. If they started encouraging Akitsu to speak her mind more freely, they might start making progress in getting her to open up a bit more often. Though her face remained impassive, Akitsu looked between the two of them with clear uncertainty in her movements, and then, a light blush painted her cheeks as she spoke up. "The clothes that were sent for me...I like them. They are very light and easy to move around in. I was...disappointed that you did not approve of them, Minato-sama."

"Well, comfortable clothes are good," Minato said, folding his arms, "but the ones that MBI gave you aren't appropriate. I want you to be comfortable, but not if it means people are going to be rude to you and stare. Those clothes attract a lot of attention, and not the good kind."

Akitsu shook her head, but didn't break eye contact. "That does not bother me. The only person whose opinion matters to me is yours, Minato-sama."

Minato found himself at a loss after that. He was admittedly being a bit overprotective, but he didn't want people to stare at Akitsu lecherously, whether she had the ability to defend herself from untoward advances or not (and as a Sekirei, she probably did, even without using her powers). However, the most direct way to make her change her mind would only reinforce the submissive behavior that he didn't want to encourage—and, whether she acknowledged the order or not, she would resent it, even if she said she didn't. He looked at her again to gauge her likely reaction; she was holding herself in that particular way that kept him from reading her body language, but she didn't seem particularly agitated either.

At length, he sighed, and took the plunge.

"It's made to accentuate all the wrong things about you," he said, spreading his hands out in an attempt to look diplomatic. "It exposes your chest and looks like it could fall off in a weak wind. I think we can find something similar that isn't so...revealing. If we can't, then we'll just buy some things that will cover you up better when you wear it, and that way you can keep all of the clothes that MBI sent. Is that all right?"

Akitsu looked him directly in the eyes, and after a moment, he saw her brow loosen slightly as she nodded. Her body didn't give any indication of agreement, but he was willing to trust her expression. "Yes, Minato-sama."

Musubi clapped her hands together, giggling. "See, guys? When you talk things out, it feels a lot better, doesn't it?"

Minato allowed himself a soft smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, it does."

* * *

**1:02 PM**

Two hours later, Minato, Musubi, and Akitsu left the store with a few bags of clothing, mostly undergarments. There were a few other outfits, though; each girl had gotten two sets of pajamas, two sets of casual wear, and two sets of more formal clothes. Akitsu had not found any new clothing to replace the MBI outfits, but, as promised, Minato had helped her pick out some things to make the overall ensemble less scandalous. It had taken some work, but they had found some thin white turtlenecks, and a few loose pairs of linen pants for her to wear underneath the kimono, as well as three pairs of white Chinese slippers with brown flower designs on them.

As they strolled down the streets, looking for a place to get some lunch before they headed back to the apartment, Minato gave thanks to every god he could think of for providing him with an MBI card via Musubi—bearing with the awkwardness of Musubi's questions about brassieres and panties was one thing (albeit one thing he could easily do, since he'd had to help Yukari with it quite a few times when she was younger and his grandmother hadn't been available to take her shopping), but paying for all of them was quite another altogether. _Once I move into this new place that Mom told me about, there shouldn't be any problems. Even if I can't use this card to pay for my lodging, I'm positive there's something I can work out._

He was jerked from his thoughts when a sudden chill ran down his back. He looked over his shoulder reflexively and saw that Musubi, who had just been chattering excitedly at Akitsu about something, was staring dead ahead with a serious frown on her face. When he turned his attention forward again, he was greeted by the faces of Hikari and Hibiki, the two Sekirei that had been chasing Musubi when he first met her. They were only a few paces away, dressed up in maid outfits and standing in front of a cafe of some kind; Hikari, wearing the darker outfit between the two of them, held a stack of papers, while Hibiki had the strings of a few balloons tied around her left hand.

"Well, well, Hibiki," said Hikari, clenching her hand into a fist and semi-crumpling the leaflets that she'd been handing out only moments before. Her legs spread out slightly and her calves tensed; Minato was positive that she was about to rush him or one of the Sekirei behind him. "Look at who just showed up. I think it's time for a quick break."

Hibiki shook her head, regarding both Musubi and Akitsu with noticeable skepticism. Her body, in contrast to Hikari's, was still loose, and her frown was thoughtful. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, sis. We haven't seen those two for the last couple of hours, right? And look at how closely they're walking. I think he winged her after they got away from us. On top of that, he's got another Sekirei with him."

"You're right," Musubi replied, her voice calm, even as her mouth moved into a tense smile and she set down the shopping bags she carried in each hand. "Minato-sama is my Ashikabi now. Which means that if you still want to fight, I have no problem with it, and we can make it two-on-two because Akitsu-san is here."

Akitsu put down her bags as well, and slightly spread her arms out. A sudden chill began to emanate from her, and Minato realized that he still didn't know what her power did—and he didn't want to find out by provoking a fight that didn't need to be fought. To his surprise, though, Hibiki took the lead in defusing the situation by forcibly relaxing herself, letting her shoulders drop, and shaking her head, though she did spare a moment to glance ruefully at the papers she'd ruined. "We don't pick fights with winged Sekirei," she said with a bitter frown. "And right now, we really need this job, so instead of causing a ruckus, we'll just pretend this didn't happen. Is that fair?"

"More than fair," Minato said. "I was going to propose that we just let it go anyway. I don't care for this Sekirei Plan to begin with, and if I can avoid a fight, I will."

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "Then why bother becoming an Ashikabi if you don't want to fight?"

Minato simply scowled and folded his arms. He held his shoulders square, as well, to enhance the effect he was going for. "That's a really personal question to ask someone you don't know very well. Will it suffice to say that I have my reasons?"

Hikari looked thoughtful for a minute, then nodded, as did Hibiki. "Fair enough," Hikari said. "Just be aware that once the combat stages start, we won't play nearly as nice."

Minato shrugged, then turned to Musubi and Akitsu with a friendly smile meant to put them at ease. "Musubi-san, Akitsu-san, let's go. We still need to eat so we can pack."

The girls picked up the shopping bags again, and without further ado, followed Minato as he walked around Hikari and Hibiki and down the sidewalk. As Akitsu passed them, she kept her eyes locked forward, and whispered to them, "You will not confront us again." Again, a chill emanated from her body, and the slight crackling of something at Hibiki's foot made her look downward as Akitsu kept walking forward. Embedded in the sidewalk was a very sharp looking piece of ice, glistening in the sunlight less than half an inch away from Hibiki's big toe.

"That one's scary," Hibiki remarked, gently grasping the hand holding the balloons to quell the brief shaking that overtook it. "I think if we ever see that guy again we should just propose a truce or something, sis. Not looking forward to dealing with someone that can do something like that without even making a sound."

Hikari rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted.

"It's good that you're afraid of her," replied a soft voice, androgynous enough to be either a man's or a woman's. Hikari recognized it first, and snapped her head up to the awning above the restaurant that they were standing in front of. Sure enough, a slim figure with silver-white hair, wearing a black cloak and a mask that covered the lower half of their face, was standing there, leaning against the building. With a relaxed air, the cloaked person straightened up, then dropped to street level, adjusting the high collar of the cloak after landing.

"What are you talking about, Homura?" Hikari asked, frowning. "The 'cryptic bystander man' act gets really old after a while, you know."

"That one with the Sekirei crest on her forehead is a discarded number," Homura replied. "I can't speak to how stable her abilities are, but as far as sheer power goes she's easily a match for one of the single-numbered Sekirei." He frowned beneath his mask. "Though considering that, she couldn't have been winged by him. Why would he keep her along?"

"Well, he said he didn't care about the game that much," Hibiki replied, scratching her head. "Maybe he's just a perv that wants a bunch of women to string along. If that's the case, then winging or not winging wouldn't matter to him; if he can convince them to hang around, then he doesn't need to wing them."

Homura shook his head and sighed. "He's not that kind of person, I can tell. Though obviously you can't, even though it's fairly obvious if you look." He briefly looked past the lightning-twin Sekirei, as if trying to pick Minato out of the crowd of people moving down there, then turned his attention back to Hikari and Hibiki, tensing his body slightly. "Anyway, I came by to warn you two about continuing to hunt the Sekirei without Ashikabi. If you insist on keeping it up, I'll char-broil you until you understand to quit being pests."

Hikari growled and began to let off a few stray sparks of angry electricity, but Hibiki put a hand on her sister's shoulder and squeezed when Homura opened his palm and summoned a small wisp of fire. Hikari flinched for a moment at the sudden contact from her sister, then eyed the fireball that Homura had cradled in the palm of his hand. With a grunt, Hikari sighed and once again forced herself to relax, scowling down at the ground as the sparks she let off faded into the air

Homura smiled slightly beneath his mask, and closed his fist around the nascent flame. "Good choice, I'd say. Hibiki, I have to give you credit, you really know how to watch your sister's back."

"Our Ashikabi's kind of useless so I've gotten used to it," Hibiki replied with a flippant smirk, putting her free hand on her hip. "Now, do you mind? We're trying to do a job here and you're gonna scare the customers away."

Homura simply closed his eyes and chuckled a bit before jumping upward, back onto the rooftop of the cafe. Hikari brushed back a few of her square-cut bangs and put on a strained smile, though her fingers twitched slightly as she imagined beating up Homura, Musubi, and Akitsu for a brief moment. "Well, Hibiki, you're right. We've been slacking off on work. Let's stop being gossips for a minute and try to get us enough money to feed Seo's bottomless pit of a stomach."

* * *

**3:45 PM**

**Outside of Izumo Inn**

In the end, Minato and the girls had managed to find a decent Western restaurant to eat at, thanks in no small part to the power of the MBI card. The food had been so good that Musubi placed another order specifically to take it home in a box; Minato had to remind her several times on the way back that she wasn't going to be able to eat it while carrying the shopping bags.

At the apartment, Akitsu immediately changed into her MBI outfit, adding the extras that they'd gotten while shopping, while Minato began the process of packing and sorting his things, assisted by Musubi on occasion. By 3 PM, everything non-essential had been packed up, and Minato decided to bite the bullet and go to check up on the place he was planning on moving to.

Forty-five minutes later, Minato, Akitsu, and Musubi were standing on the curb in front of a traditional two-story building, which sat behind a green gate. The plaque on the gate pillar read "Izumo Inn", and the whole place had a rather comfortable feel even though in some ways it clashed with the very 'modernness' of Shintou Teitou.

"This place is interesting, Minato-sama," Musubi said, clapping her hands together with a smile. "I think it would be really cool to live here!"

"Yeah. It sort of reminds me of my grandmother's place in Wakayama," Minato replied, giving it a once-over. The roof was definitely of traditional design, but the windows were more reminiscent of Western ones, fairly long in terms of height and made of glass. "I like the way it's built, though. It looks like a great place to live."

Together, they went to the front door, a large, wooden Western-designed pair, and true to what Minato expected, there was no doorbell there. He cleared his throat, then said aloud, "Excuse me, is anyone home?"

Moments later, the sound of soft footsteps approaching the door began to grow louder, and it opened to reveal a smiling, young-looking woman dressed in a kimono similar to a shrine maiden's, with a white top, purple bottom, and loose, hanging sleeves. Her lavender hair was long enough to reach past her hips, with a thin, high ponytail tied by a piece of white ribbon. Her posture was straight and precise, but she was clearly comfortable, if appropriately wary of the people standing in front of her. "Good afternoon, how may I help you?"

Minato bowed shortly, then straightened up. "My name's Minato Sahashi. I'm looking for a place to rent with my friends Musubi and Akitsu." He gestured to each girl as he said their name, and they too bowed in the same abbreviated way that Minato had. "Might I assume that you're Miya Asama?"

The woman opened her lavender eyes a bit wider and shifted her gaze between Minato, Musubi, and Akitsu, lingering on Akitsu's forehead for a moment—not long enough to attract Minato's attention, but long enough to indicate that she recognized and noticed the crest. Immediately after that, though, she broadened her smile a bit and inclined her head. "Yes, I am Miya Asama. We have quite a few rooms available; if you're interested in rental we can discuss payment options at length right now."

"Well, before that, I was hoping that I'd be able to move in within the next three days, if possible," Minato said. "But, um, if we're going to have that discussion, we should probably sit and discuss it properly. I don't mean to impose..."

Miya waved a hand gently and shook her head. "No, by all means. Come inside and we'll talk."

* * *

As Minato had expected somewhat from the exterior, the inside of the house was very much traditional Japanese; aside from the stairs near the entrance, everything was in place, right down to the tatami mats and paper doors. Miya led them to the living room, which was as traditional as the rest of the house; aside from a television behind the low-sitting dining table and a bureau in another corner, there wasn't much else to see. Miya moved to the head of the table and sat there; Minato went to the other end, where Musubi and Akitsu chose to flank him.

"Now, Sahashi-san, let's talk business," she said, and though her smile never faded, Minato got a sense of the atmosphere changing slightly. "First and foremost. Is your mother's name Takami Sahashi, by any chance?"

The question was posed innocently, but Minato got a sense of foreboding that wouldn't leave him alone. "Um, yes. She was the one that told me about this place. She also said that you would...know a few things." He deliberately, but gently, emphasized the last word, upon noticing that Miya's expression—without ever changing from a smile—somehow became less friendly once he had confirmed his mother's identity.

"I thought as much, hearing your name," Miya replied. "Well, in that case, I'm not certain how much she has told you about me, nor do I see fit to expand on any particulars." The air seemed to grow heavier, and Miya's smile widened, yet Minato was feeling distinctly as if he was standing in front of a firing squad. Everything in her physical posture screamed non-aggression, but somehow, she was exuding a threatening aura that he'd never felt before, such that the air around her appeared to darken. "You are also correct in assuming that I am quite aware of 'a few things'. Since you seem to be the sensible, straightforward sort, I'll say it directly—in this household, there is no violence, related to those 'things' or otherwise." The sensation in the air was tangibly thicker now, and Minato could have sworn that he could see a demon-like mask, with a leering, curvy-toothed grin, floating in the "darkness" surrounding her. "And, unless you plan on marrying either Musubi-san or Akitsu-san sometime soon, there will be no lewd acts permitted here, either."

Instead of responding verbally, Minato nodded his head till his neck felt ready to snap, as did Musubi. Akitsu was the only one that remained unruffled, meeting Miya's nearly-closed eyes without fear. After a few moments, Miya's smile relaxed a bit, and the air around her, and in the room, cleared. "As long as that's understood, then we have no worries."

Minato let out an audible sigh, while Musubi almost fell over in relief. However, his mind soon jumped back to an earlier point that Miya had made. "Wait a minute, Asama-san. You said that there won't be fights allowed here, right? But Akitsu-san and Musubi-san don't fight with each other and don't have a reason to. Do you mean to say that other people here are Seki...?"

"That's correct," Miya said. "Though, of course, this is not something you should even think of asking them about." The not-quite-smile came back in full force, and with it, the unsettling aura, though she soon hid the former from sight by raising a hand to her mouth. "Certain matters are private for a reason. If they want to tell you, they will. Otherwise, you should avoid getting into their business."

"Of course," Minato replied, shrinking away from Miya and trying to ignore the bead of sweat trickling down his neck. "To be honest I would rather worry more about Shinteidai than...well, those matters, for now. As for rent—I was told you don't accept MBI cards or the money one can get from them, and since you know what my mother does, then you probably aren't inclined to take whatever she gives me for rent, either."

Miya shifted slightly on her cushion as the gloomy cloud around her vanished. "You are correct about the MBI cards." She raised an eyebrow. "However, you should be aware that I do very clearly understand your mother's...circumstances. Assuming that you are not here to advance MBI's interests, I have no problem with her paying for your board here. Neither do I have issue with you paying your own rent if you so choose."

Minato pursed his lips in thought, and mentally filed that away for later. "I understand perfectly."

"Rent itself is 50,000 yen for a six-tatami room, though if you're willing to do chores we can negotiate that down quite a bit," Miya said. "As for moving in, you can come whenever you like. I am not expecting anyone to take the places that you would be occupying."

Minato rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking things over. "Then, I'll see what I can do about coming in tonight. I'm on a bit of a tight schedule, and my landlord has been giving me some grief about moving out since Musubi-san started staying with me."

Miya giggled slightly. "My, my. Someone was fairly certain that they were going to get housing here, I see." Her smile grew a bit, but not in the frightening way it had before, and Minato felt his muscles loosen as what little was left of the tension in the air completely cleared. "I suppose your mother remembers more about myself and my late husband than I would give her credit for. Otherwise she would not have sent you here."

Minato blinked and shifted where he sat. "What do you mean by that?"

"My husband was never the kind to turn away someone in need of a place to stay, regardless of who they were or what they needed, and I live by that rule myself," Miya said, and for a moment her smile became wistful as opposed to cheerful; her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, but more in sadness than calm. "He used to work with MBI, but I never knew she would remember that about him. In a way it's kind of flattering that she would recall that of all things."

Something told Minato not to press the issue, and so he nodded before he stood up, causing Musubi and Akitsu to mirror his actions. "Then, Asama-san. I'll be leaving now to get my things ready. I'll hopefully get back within two hours or so. Thanks for this opportunity."

"It'll be a pleasure to host you, Sahashi-kun," Miya replied, standing as well. Her posture straightened back to normal, so smoothly that Minato would have missed it had he not been looking straight at her. "If you hurry you may make it here in time for dinner. We'll discuss payment once you've settled in."

"Understood." He turned to Akitsu and Musubi. "All right, girls. Let's make it fast so we can get back here on time, OK?"

"Yes, sir!" Musubi replied with a grin; Akitsu simply nodded, and Miya put a hand to her mouth and giggled once more. _Your son's a rather nice young man, Takami, _the landlady thought to herself._ I __never would have expected you to raise such a proper young man. Perhaps I was too quick to judge you all those years ago._

* * *

**5:15 PM**

When he had first started packing things up, Minato had debated finding a moving service to get all of his stuff moved out, if only because of how much stuff he had to carry. Luckily for him, the girls were more than capable of handling the lifting, easily hefting the heaviest of his belongings in makeshift bags that they carried over their shoulders (makeshift meaning "large tablecloths with the corners tied into a rough knot so it resembled a sack").

That said, the trip took longer than their first one, if only because they had to walk, and because Minato was not nearly as tireless as either of them, having to stop for infrequent breaks when even his breathing technique didn't let him keep up the pace. As it was, they made it back to Izumo House relatively on schedule; by then, though, dinner was being served, and so Minato left his stuff outside of his room before following Miya downstairs and down the main hallway, into the dining room.

Miya's place was, as expected, at the head of the table. On her right, closer to the side of the table directly opposite Miya, sat a slim young man with silver hair, who raised a hand in greeting as Minato, Musubi, and Akitsu entered the room. He was dressed in a loosely-buttoned long-sleeved top and black slacks, and his overall demeanor was relaxed and cool. "You're the new boarders, I take it?" he said, his voice soft and polite. "Welcome. I'm Kagari. You won't see me around a lot unless you're around during the daytime, I have work late at night."

Minato returned the greeting with a nod. "I'm Minato."

Musubi bowed at the waist. "Musubi. A pleasure to meet you."

Akitsu simply mimicked Musubi's action, and blinked once. "Akitsu."

Kagari smiled in reply, surreptitiously looking at Akitsu's forehead, then looked over to the empty seat next to him while Minato and the girls sat down. "Miya, where's Uzume?" he asked.

"I knocked on her door just before Sahashi-kun and his friends showed up," Miya said. "She was changing, so she'll be down shortly." Sure enough, the sound of feet clambering down the stairs began to echo through the house, and quite suddenly, a figure, presumably Uzume, came from around the corner and popped into the dining room.

"Sorry, Miya," she said. "Didn't mean to be late. You kind of woke me..."

Minato turned his head to look at the new arrival, and promptly choked a bit before turning beet-red. Uzume was a buxom young lady, with long brown hair that was tied off into a rough pigtail at the right side of her head, and was by no means unattractive, with a lean, trim body and gently defined musculature. The primary "problem" with her was the fact that aside from a white brassiere and a matching pair of panties, she was absolutely naked.

"Oh, we've got company," Uzume said, scratching the back of her head with a lazy smile. "My bad~" She then turned to a still-blushing Minato. "How ya doing?"

Miya slowly turned toward her with a familiar, overly-wide smile, and the girl froze in place, grinning nervously. "Uzume, please go put something decent on," Miya said, and though she spoke normally, it seemed like every word exerted its own personal gravity on the room at large. "Preferably in the next two minutes, or you will forget what it is like to eat food under this roof."

Minato could have sworn that Uzume knew how to fly, given how she managed to completely disappear from the doorway without making the slightest amount of noise. After a few moments, he turned away from the doorway that she'd disappeared through, and put his focus back on his food. "Does she do that a lot?" he asked, trying not to dwell on what he'd seen.

"Yes, but Miya is usually less strict about that," Kagari said, using his chopsticks to pull off a piece of the fish on his plate before putting it in his mouth, chewing it, and swallowing it cleanly. "I suppose she wants to make a good first impression for the new tenants."

"Alternatively," Miya said, her not-quite-smile still in place and her attention now focused on Kagari, "I am attempting to teach that girl how to behave properly and not gallivant around in her undergarments for everyone to see. Which I have been doing since she came to live here." The darkness lightly cloaked her shoulders again, and half-hidden by her head, the demon-like visage peeked out to stare at him, with an ominous moan coming from its mouth.

Kagari chuckled nervously and looked off to the side, cursing his body for shivering under Miya's baleful gaze. "Yes, there's that, of course."

It was in that moment that Uzume reappeared, wearing a pair of capri jeans and a long-sleeved top with a pink body and violet sleeves. The shirt had a golden star trimmed with red on the front, accentuated by Uzume's bust; however, now that she had clothes on, Minato found it easy to pay attention to her face and not her chest. "So, yeah," she said, grinning again as she sat down, "now that I'm not gonna get starved by our beloved landlady, lemme reintroduce myself. Name's Uzume."

Minato, Musubi, and Akitsu introduced themselves in response, and Uzume nodded once, trying not to let her gaze linger on Akitsu's prominent crest any more than Kagari had. However, Minato noticed her eyes wander there before they snapped down to her plate, and frowned slightly to himself. _She might __be the Sekirei that lives here, _he thought to himself. _She was looking at the crest like she knew it...or maybe I'm just imagining things. _He was brought out of his short reverie by a satisfied burp on his right side, where Musubi sat. He looked over to his Sekirei's plate and sighed with a small grin; all of Musubi's food was gone. "It's probably a bad sign that this doesn't surprise me anymore," he said to himself, scratching the side of his head.

"You'd do it too, Minato-sama, if you would hurry up and start eating," Musubi replied, sticking out her tongue at his teasing. "The landlady's food is delicious."

Minato rolled his eyes and took a piece of fish into his mouth, and quite literally felt it melt there. The texture was perfect; firm enough to chew, soft enough to pass easily, and flavored to savory perfection. In other words, it was the perfect fish.

Akitsu blinked at Minato's reaction, then took a piece of the fish as well, and after chewing and swallowing it, paused for a moment. She then proceeded to subtly take larger and larger pieces of the fish with each bite until it was completely devoured aside from the bones.

"Delicious," she said, and a quiet burp, no louder than a whisper, bubbled out of her mouth.

* * *

After helping clear up dinner, Kagari disappeared, saying that he had to get ready for work. Miya left as well to make sure that the water in the bath would be ready for everyone to use. Minato took that time to go up to his room and sort through his belongings, with Akitsu and Musubi helping him put away clothing and vice-versa. Once that was finished, they went across the second floor hallway, and Minato slid open the doors across the way to reveal a balcony that overlooked the garden and gave a nice view of the city to the south. Together, the three of them sat down there—with Musubi almost directly next to Minato, on his left side, and Akitsu behind him, on his right—and looked up at the sky, simply enjoying the evening air.

"Minato-sama," Musubi said after a moment.

"Yes?"

"I really like it here. The landlady is much nicer than your old landlord...even if she's kind of scary sometimes." Musubi rubbed her neck nervously, and despite the open-mouthed smile on her face, Minato could feel her shudder slightly when she remembered Miya's oppressive aura of menace. "The house is beautiful, too, and so big." She giggled and patted her full stomach. "Most importantly, the food is great!"

"It is," he said, letting his hands rest on his calves. "I have to thank my mom later. She really came through for me."

Musubi blinked, then nodded, as if remembering something. "Oh, that's how you found out about this place. Then, was that your mother that was calling you yesterday, Minato-sama?"

Minato nodded too, letting his body hunch forward as he relaxed more. "It's been a while since I've seen her, but she's in the city now, so the next time I talk to her I think I'm going to ask her when we can meet up. I get the feeling she'll be busy with work, though."

A slightly cool gust blew over them, and while Akitsu didn't flinch, Musubi shivered a bit and drew closer to Minato on instinct, pressing herself against him; her body was warm, and the contact felt good. Minato's surprise at her comfort with him was overtaken by an instinctive desire to keep her right where she was. "What does she do?"

For a moment, Minato debated telling her the truth, but eventually decided to bite the bullet and go for it. "She works for MBI," he said. "She's involved in the...the Plan, but I don't know what she does exactly."

"Maybe I know her, " Musubi said. "Can you give me a name? Describe what she looks like?"

"Her name's Takami."

Musubi paused for a few moments, pointing her index finger straight up while she combed her memory. Right when the silence got a bit awkward, her eyes widened and she stood up like a rocket, fist clenched. "Yes! I know her! A thin lady that likes to smoke a lot, and has white hair, right? She was my adjuster when I was still in the lab!"

Minato was a bit startled by her reaction, and at the same time perplexed as to why his mother wouldn't have mentioned this when he brought up Musubi in their conversation. He then remembered how Musubi had mentioned an adjuster when she explained that Akitsu couldn't have gotten sick from exposure, but she hadn't explained herself further than that. "Musubi, what exactly does an adjuster do?"

Musubi paused and put a finger to her lips, then sat back down to look Minato in the eye. "Well, Takami-san explained it to me like this. When Sekirei are first born, their power is immense. In order to bring their strength under control as quickly as possible, they are adjusted so that they can interact with regular people safely. Otherwise, the Sekirei would be breaking the sidewalk when they stepped on it, or squashing people like pancakes when they hugged them." She giggled. "Takami-san also told me that some of the older Sekirei with lower numbers weren't adjusted as well as some of the younger ones are, so we're a little bit weaker but are in more control of our bodies."

"Or, to put it another way, older Sekirei tend to be stronger," Minato said, resisting the urge to groan in disappointment. _Well, that's nice. So if we somehow run into the number 1 Sekirei or something, we're __in big trouble if he or she's been winged already._

"Yep," Musubi replied. "And speaking of those..." She leaned back and turned toward Akitsu with a smile. "Akitsu-san. You never told us. What's your number?"

Akitsu shifted her gaze over to Musubi, and Minato saw her brow shift from its normal neutral state into something resembling consternation, or even frustration. Then, for the first time, Minato saw her body visibly shift from its blank, unreadable posture, stiffening up like a board, and it was so strange that he could _feel_ her discomfort. At length, Akitsu finally said, "It was thrown away. I do not have one anymore."

Musubi blinked a few times, then frowned sadly. She hadn't missed the slight, cold bite of disappointment and self-hatred in Akitsu's response, and was afraid to push the matter further. Still, she didn't want to just leave things there—it didn't feel right. Before she could speak, Minato put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. At first, Musubi didn't understand why he was telling her to let it go, but knew that he wouldn't be doing it if he didn't have a good reason.

"Sorry, Akitsu-san," she said instead. "I didn't mean to say anything troublesome."

Akitsu closed her eyes, and after a moment of protracted silence, she relaxed, letting out a small breath of air from her nostrils as her shoulders lowered themselves. Though the night was a bit brisk, it definitely wasn't cold enough to justify the small, visible wisp of cold air that came from Akitsu's nose. "It is fine. You...were only curious, and did not know." Her eyes then opened, and her gray irises were filled with pain that neither Minato nor Musubi had seen before. "I would ask that you not inquire again."

Musubi nodded, her face still unusually solemn, and after a moment, leaned into Minato even more, staring up at the stars with her head on his shoulder. Shortly after she did, Akitsu moved closer to Minato as well, though only slightly; hearing her move, Minato simply looked at her and smiled, beckoning her forward with a slight jerk of his head. Silently, she came directly to his other side, but didn't lean on him like Musubi did, instead staring forward into the night. Her hand was pressed gently on the floor, between her and him, and instinctively, Minato put his hand over it, squeezing it gently. The contact made Akitsu blink a few times before giving Minato a sidelong glance, but the small mote of confusion on her face fell away when he smiled at her. Her response was a small nod and a tiny smile of her own, before she turned back to the night sky and watched the twinkling of the stars.

* * *

**8:30 PM**

**Shintou Teitou Arboretum**

While her son started to settle in to his new home, Takami Sahashi was busy enjoying a nice walk in the night in Shintou Teitou's local arboretum, or rather was attempting to enjoy it. She was a bit nervous because she wasn't supposed to be doing it, but it had been a prime opportunity to make a Sekirei happy while pissing Minaka off a bit. That was reason enough to ignore the little voice in her head telling her that this was a terrible idea.

The Sekirei in question was a little girl with a simple white dress, and long, brown-blonde hair, that was walking beside Takami and staring at all of the forestry with rapt wonder in her sparkling green eyes. The little Sekirei was called Kusano, the youngest of the Sekirei at number 108, and she had been assigned as Takami's latest adjusting project. Though Takami had attempted to be somewhat neutral toward the little girl, being in her proximity all of the time had caused adjuster and Sekirei to grow closer to each other. In some ways Takami saw it as a chance to exercise the mothering instincts that she hadn't gotten to give to both Minato and Yukari once Minaka had begun using flimsier pretexts to keep her in Shintou Teitou and away from Wakayama as much as possible.

Takami sighed and idly moved the cigarette sitting in her mouth as Kusano ran ahead to rub the bark of a particularly large tree. They'd been out for a few hours now, and while she was certain that things would be all right if she didn't push the envelope much further, she didn't know how much would be too much. "Kuu-chan. Time to head back to the labs."

"Do I have to go back, Takami-nee-chan?" Kusano replied, pouting. "Everything here is so green and alive. And the trees are talking to me a lot. It's not like the lab. I hate taking all those shots and being in those nasty, quiet rooms."

"Minaka's going to whine if he finds out I let you out before you were allowed to be released," Takami said. She then took the cigarette out of her mouth, pinching it between two fingers, to exhale a thin jet of smoke, before replacing it and looking off into space. "It's sort of OK since I was here watching you, but if I don't get you back soon, it could be problematic later."

For a moment, Kusano's face fell, and Takami mentally punched herself for depressing the child. And them did it again, for having to be the one that made her so upset. _I don't have a choice though. I never did, not since I let Minaka hold the reins._

"If it means anything to you, Kuu, I would never take you back to the lab, if I was allowed to do that," Takami said to Kusano, and for a moment, Takami's eyebrows loosened from their usual furrow as she gazed down on the little Sekirei. Even Kusano could see the sad wistfulness in Takami's narrow eyes. "But I have no choice."

Kusano looked forlorn, but nodded, and gently tottered back to Takami's side. Minato's mother sighed around the cigarette in her mouth and patted the young Sekirei on the head, then froze as she heard the sound of feet scraping the dirt behind them. Slowly, as not to panic Kusano, she turned around to see who had just arrived, and scowled. A brown-haired girl in a white dress with puffed shoulders and short sleeves stood in front of Takami, carrying a black scythe with a zigzagging shaft near the head. The black, u-necked skirt she wore over her dress blew slightly in the wind as she smirked at Takami. Behind her stood a young man in a fancy white suit with a ruffled cravat at his neck, grinning impetuously—none other than Hayato Mikogami. The look he was giving Kusano was oddly predatory, like a cat eyeballing a canary before jumping to eat the bird alive. There was no mistaking it, Takami knew exactly what he wanted.

"A Sekirei and an Ashikabi, huh," Takami said, biting down on her cigarette. "Buzz off. This one isn't ready to be released and she's most certainly not reacting to you."

"Don't speak to Mikogami-sama so lightly," replied the Sekirei, hefting her scythe into a two-handed grip. "Otherwise I'll have to cut you down and take that girl from you."

Takami's eyes grew hard. "If you've got a pair big enough to consider attacking one of MBI's top Sekirei Plan officials, then you're dumber than I thought." She turned to Mikogami, folding her arms. "Mikogami, is it? Call her off and get out of here. Otherwise you're not going to like the consequences."

"You're really rude, lady," Mikogami answered, smoothing back his wild, dark blonde hair with a cool smile. "Yomi. Go on ahead and follow through on that promise of yours; that little Sekirei is way too cute to let go."

Yomi nodded and rushed forward. Takami swore, grabbed Kusano and jumped to the side. In response, Yomi swung her scythe upwards while turning it toward Takami and Kusano. The force of her swing seemed to make the air ripple, and before Takami knew it, her arm was slashed open by a gust of wind and the left side of her field of vision was covered by a flash of red. It wasn't until she dropped to the ground, involuntarily releasing Kusano from her grasp, that she realized there was a hot, sticky warmth on her face, and that her left eye had instinctively closed itself; it was still in the socket, she could feel it there, but the lid and part of her face was badly damaged.

_Shit...!_

As Takami lay on the ground, pressing her left hand to her injured eye despite the cut on her arm, Mikogami approached Kusano with a cold smile. When he got close enough, he bent down to her level and tilted her face upward for a kiss. Every single bit of motherly rage flared up in Takami at the sight, and she struggled to her feet, preparing to charge straight at Mikogami. "Get away from her, you bastard!"

Yomi stepped in front of her, and punched her in the stomach before she could move. With a wheezing cough, Takami fell to her knees, and as her head slumped downward, Yomi's scythe came to a neat rest right below her neck. "Now, be quiet, or I'll take your head and not just your eye," Yomi said, smiling.

Takami grit her teeth, and a tear slid from her uninjured eye. "Don't let him kiss you, Kusano," she whispered.

Her prayer was answered, as Kusano cried out and punched Mikogami directly in the face before balling up her hands into tiny fists and starting to wail. The plants, grass, and trees all around them began to glow, and Takami, despite knowing what was going to happen next, managed a grin, albeit a rueful one. "You went and did it now, you idiot Ashikabi," she muttered. "I didn't want this to happen, but I can't escape with Kusano when I'm..."

In short order, everything green in the area grew to tremendous density and thickness, tossing Mikogami, Yomi, and Takami away from Kusano like leaves in a windstorm.

Standing at the center of all of this, Kusano simply hung her head and began to cry, her body trembling like a leaf in a storm. _Takami-nee-chan, I'm sorry. Kuu was being selfish to make you take her out here. Will Kuu still get to meet her Ashikabi-onii-chan even though she got you hurt, Takami-nee-chan?_

Only silence answered Kusano as she lapsed into a dreamless slumber, falling into the ground in a fetal ball.

_Onii-chan...please. Find me...Help me..._

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_As promised, here's Chapter 3. Funny enough, I just read the new chapter of Sekirei while prepping this for launch, so if you have as well, you may see a hint or two of some setup for what's involved there as it pertains to certain character backstory. For the sake of everyone else, though, **please don't discuss the events of the new chapter in your reviews. **I abide by a no-spoiler policy mostly so that things are just easier for everyone that hasn't gotten a chance to catch up yet._

_As this chapter shows, for those that were worried about Masaru being a big, overriding force in the main part of the story via what I like to call OC SMASH, well...yeah. I'm fairly certain I don't have to explain why that isn't the case now. Most of his characterization will come as it has been so far. Of course, this now paints Minaka as even more of a colossal jackass, which was kind of the point (and which I have no problem with)._

_One more point that I will make clear as well is just how strong Minato (and by proxy, Yukari, and even Masaru) are in this story. To put it simply, under no circumstances are they strong enough to terminate a Sekirei. Knock one senseless for a bit, yes. Knock one unconscious, maybe. But outright termination is not possible. That requires a level of sustained force that the human body simply can't exert, ki or no ki._

_Review Response:  
_

_As usual, this is going to pick and choose specific reviews to answer. I would like to remind everyone that **questions about pairings will get vague or no answers.** Feel free to ask them regardless, but I'm keeping those details private for a reason._

**_Capito Celcior: _**_Your concern about Masaru is part of why I wrote the third paragraph of my little blurb up there. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to him, or anyone that isn't a Sekirei, terminating a Sekirei. _

_**Rebell**: Similar comments have been said about Orihime in my Substitute School fiction. I have a tendency to tone down the disliked traits for characters that I like but that I know get a lot of character bashing. It's kind of a dirty trick, but sometimes it can be used to develop a fan un-favorite into a more well-received character.  
_

_I got a lot of compliments about my planned-out schedule. Really, I chose two-week intervals because it gives me time to write good chapters (when I'm not being distracted by Garou: Mark of the Wolves, or Star Ocean 4, et cetera). I'm sadly a bit behind since I made a mistake last time—I was actually writing chapter 7 when chapter 2 was posted, and have yet to start on chapter 8, though I know what's going to be in it already. I just have to finish chapter 7 first._

_In about another two weeks, the next chapter will go up. Hopefully, by then I will have both 7 and 8 done and moved on to 9. Still don't know how many chapters the story will run, but going solely by what chapter 8 is planned to be like, and comparing it to the actual series, we'll be roughly halfway through the first season by the time the events of chapter 8 happen. _

_That's all I've got to say about this chapter. I'll see you all again around July 6th with number 4. For those that like to draw, I have a small request posted up on my profile; feel free to stop by and check it out if you want to._

_~ZS_


	4. Two Bellflowers

_**Wakayama, Japan: Sahashi Residence**_

_**2012**_

_**1:30 PM**_

_If there was one thing that Minato didn't like about the weekends, it was sparring practice with Yukari. _

_It wasn't so much that she wasn't fun to fight. It was just that her way of doing things was so weird to him. Dad had never said anything to her about fighting wrong or not playing fair, but she always chased him down when they were fighting, never letting him fight back, and so he never got a chance to even try and fend her off._

_Right now, for instance, she was punching at him very, very fast, and it was getting hard for him to either move out of her way or knock away her punches because he'd been doing it for so long already. The fact that the ground in their yard basically consisted of dust, short grass, and rocks didn't help either, as he had to avoid stumbling over his feet if he kicked a rock or accidentally locked himself to the spot by pinching grass between his curled toes._

_When he slipped and missed a block, one of those punches hit him on the chin, and he stumbled back. Yukari let out a fierce shout and stepped forward, turning her body to execute a vicious high kick with her back leg. Her loose pant leg billowed out as her foot sliced through the air, and the blow caught Minato head on. A dopey, dazed smile crossed his face as the strength of the kick sent him spinning through the air like a drunken top, and eventually he crashed hard on the ground, face first. The soft grass spared him from serious injury, but his pride was still hurt by how easily he'd been beaten._

"_Point, Yukari!" his father said, standing up from where he'd been sitting on the ground and watching them. "Good form on your Naruto just now, Yukari, but mind your strength. Usin' that in a spar can be right trouble for you and them if you mess it up."_

"_Yes, shishou," Yukari replied, wincing as she lowered her heel to the ground. It was stinging faintly, and while the pain was bearable, it wasn't something she wanted to deal with every time she used the move._

"_Minato, you have to learn how t' make your own openings!" Masaru continued, his voice loud and barking enough to wake his son out of his stupor. "Yukari ain't gonna give you the time t' wait for her to mess up, she knows you better than that. You gotta be more proactive about finding holes and exploiting 'em!"_

"_Understood, sir," Minato said with a groan, rubbing his forehead and wincing a bit at the knot that was coming up on it. "I'll try harder next time."_

_Masaru watched the boy get up without comment, then nodded. "See to it that you do. Right now, only thing that's holding you back is yourself. Gotta be brave to get over your problems."_

_Minato closed his eye and rubbed his injury again, noticing Yukari grin at him, and silently mulled over what his father said for a moment, then nodded. "I will."_

_Seeing the new resolve in his son's eyes, Masaru finally broke his stern facade with a smile. "We're done for now, kids. Min, we've gotta get some ice on that lump or your grandma is gonna roast me for dinner. Yucchi, don't use Naruto 'til I show you how to pull your punches a bit."_

"_Yes, Dad," the two children replied, well aware that he was out of "teacher mode" now._

"_All right, then, let's go! Lunch is waiting!"_

* * *

_Later on that day, after getting an ice pack tied onto his new lump by way of a towel, Minato took his bowl of curry and sat down with his father on the front porch of the house, overlooking the dirt path that led off the property and onto the main road._

"_Hey, Min. What's botherin' you, son?" Masaru said, setting his bowl of curry down on the polished wooden slats they were sitting on. "The lump will stop swelling in a bit, I promise. Yucchi didn't mean to hit ya so hard."_

"_It's not that, Dad," Minato said, frowning as he adjusted the ice pack. "Yukari was teasing me earlier. She said that if I wasn't such a weenie I wouldn't lose all the time." He sighed, looking older than his eleven years. "I think she's right, but...I don't know what to do to fix it."_

"_Well, first off Yucchi ain't gonna get any dessert tonight for making fun of you," Masaru said, puffing his lower lip out in a mock pout, and Minato laughed. "But seriously, son. Why does that worry you? You're plenty strong for your age."_

_Minato's bottom lip puffed out, and he hugged his knees to his chest, staring obstinately down the porch. "You saying that doesn't mean it's true, Dad. And if I was strong, Yukari wouldn't beat me all the time."_

_Sighing dramatically, Masaru scooped a spoonful of curry out of his plate and ate it in several quick bites before he put the plate down and draped an arm around Minato's thin, hunched shoulders. "Geez, Min, you've got not a lick a confidence in y'self. You're making your dear old dad feel all beat up inside." His expression sobered up suddenly. "Now, listen here, Minato. Just cause Yukari is stronger than you when she hits things doesn't mean she's a better fighter than you are. It just means that she's better at fightin' that way. Remember what I told you? Be proactive. Not just when you fight her, but when you do anything." He squeezed Minato's shoulder. "Be cool, plan ahead, and once you've got everything in place, I reckon you can pull off whatever you put your mind to."_

_Awed by his father's seriousness, Minato simply stared up at him. It was at that moment that the ice pack on Minato's head began to sweat a little more, and a drop of water worked its way into one of his eyes. He flinched at the coldness of it and winked the affected eye a few times, causing Masaru to stare at him in puzzlement. "Min, what in the devil are you doing, boy?"_

"_Water got in my eye, Dad," Minato replied, rubbing the affected eye with a grimace. "I'm fine, it's just really cold."_

_Masaru put on a dumb grin. "It's OK to cry if I said something super inspiring, son. Don't have to hide it."_

"_Dad, I'm serious! The ice pack is melting and water got into my eye!"_

"_Sure it did. Had that happen to me plenty of times."_

"_Daaaaaaaaaad!"_

* * *

_**~Petal 4: Two Bellflowers~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou: Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Friday, 8:00 AM**

The morning after moving into the Izumo Inn, Minato woke up to a somewhat familiar feeling—warmth that wasn't his blankets ensnaring him on multiple sides. Surely enough, when Minato tried to shift around, he realized that Musubi and Akitsu were snuggled up to him tightly underneath the covers of his furo, on his right and left sides respectively. Thankfully, they were both wearing their pajamas—Musubi had picked a long sleeved shirt and a matching set of pants, both decorated with cartoon-like bear heads, while Akitsu had opted for a long white shift that easily covered her feet when she stood while wearing it.

Before he had unpacked his belongings yesterday, Miya had assigned Minato to a room by himself while rooming Akitsu and Musubi together in one of the vacant ones, with clear instructions that no one was to leave their assigned spots in the middle of the night. Though Miya hadn't been specific about a punishment for those who broke this rule, her smile at the time did plenty to help Minato imagine what it would be like if either girl was found in his room—and, just like they had done in his apartment, they were here now. Miya would pitch a fit if she saw either of them here.

His movements to get free didn't dislodge Musubi, but Akitsu responded immediately to them, snapping her eyes open and releasing Minato in one moment and sitting at his side in the next, folding her legs beneath herself in the formal seiza position. "Good morning, Minato-sama," she said, inclining her head slightly.

"Morning, Akitsu-san," Minato replied, stifling a yawn since he couldn't cover his mouth with his right hand; Musubi was still vice-gripping it and wasn't likely to let go while she was still sleeping. "You know, Asama-san told you two to stay in your rooms last night."

Akitsu simply shook her head. "I sleep much better when Minato-sama is at my side," she said.

Minato simply scratched his head, and sighed, trying to clear his mind of the haze that followed waking up. It wasn't until he heard a distinctive slashing sound that the fog fully cleared for him, and he pulled his arm free of Musubi's grasp as gently as he could. He then stood up and opened the door to the main hallway; the sound had been coming from the courtyard, so it'd be faster to just look down and see it from the balcony. He left his room, slid open the balcony door before he stepped outside, and looked downward with a bemused look on his face. Behind him, he heard Akitsu's soft footsteps, but didn't register them; he was too busy watching Miya in the yard below. The landlady was standing perfectly still as leaves fluttered down around her. In one hand she held what appeared to be a sword-shaped cane, resembling a wooden sword more than anything else; however, when a leaf passed in front of her face, Miya used her other hand to grab the tip of the cane closest to her hand and pulled forward, revealing the edge of a katana as she sliced the air.

The leaf passing in front of her face split cleanly in two.

_Iaido?_ Minato thought to himself. _Impressive. I didn't know Asama-san was so well-practiced. _He yawned, then pinched the bridge of his nose; he was still a bit groggy, after all, and watching Miya reminded him that he had to settle back into his own training schedule or he'd lose his edge whenever Yukari came by to visit him.

_Might as well go down to meditate in the garden. I'll need space for the morning drills._

"Wow, the landlady is amazing!"

Minato jumped and managed to avoid letting out an undignified squawk as Musubi popped up beside him, watching Miya intently with a wide smile on her face. "Musubi-san! When did you wake up?"

"I heard the landlady's sword," Musubi replied, trembling in excitement. "And her technique looks so precise and controlled. I want her to train me~"

"But you don't use a sword," Minato said, feeling his heartbeat finally start to settle from the surprise he'd been given. "Doesn't it make more sense to learn how to fight from someone that uses their hands too?"

Musubi pursed her lips outward for a moment, tapping a finger on them a couple of times, then pounded the bottom of her fist into her palm. "You're right as always, Minato-sama. I hadn't thought of that." Her smile became rather sly as she turned to him. "So does that mean that you're offering to teach me some of your techniques, Minato-sama?"

Once again, the idea of teaching Rindoukan to Musubi crossed Minato's mind. Before he could even think of his answer, he thought about his father, and what it would mean to teach Rindoukan without Masaru's permission. In a way, it could be considered dishonorable to do such a thing without the master's consent, but considering that Musubi was effectively a part of his family (if only because she was never going to leave—unless she lost the Sekirei Plan, and well, Minato didn't want to think about that), he could technically do it without really feeling bad. If nothing else, this would also be his chance to know if he had what it took to accomplish his dream—he had to be certain that he could teach someone properly. "If you want to learn, Musubi-san, then I'll teach you. Since you're a Sekirei that fights a lot like a human, you might be able to do even better than me after a while."

Musubi squealed and gripped Minato in a tight hug, causing him to turn beet red as the blood rushed to his head. "Thank you, Minato-sama! Thank you so much!"

"Welcome," he grunted. "But, can't breathe. Lungs are being crushed."

Musubi suddenly turned bright red, and she unceremoniously dropped him on the floor. Once he caught his breath, Minato stood and gently rubbed his aching ribs. "Luckily, my job doesn't start until tomorrow, so I can go over some basics with you today. Get dressed and we'll see what we can do before we get breakfast ready."

"Sahashi-san, is that you up there?" Miya's voice said; Minato blinked and looked down at her to see that she was looking up at them on the balcony. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby," he replied. "This place is a lot like my grandma's, so it was pretty easy to just nod off after not too long."

Miya gave one of her authentic smiles and sheathed her sword. "I heard you discussing training of some sort with Musubi-san just now. Are you a martial artist by any chance?"

Minato nodded, wondering if her hearing was that good or if they'd just been talking louder than he'd thought they were. "Yeah. My dad taught me pretty much everything I know when I was really young. I showed Musubi-san one of the techniques he taught me and she did a pretty good job with it. Since she doesn't fight with a weapon, I was just thinking that she would do better to learn from me."

Miya tilted her head, giving the matter some thought, before nodding her agreement. "That is true. Still, if you're going to train her, I would kindly ask to be a part of it. She will encounter a variety of opponents, and I believe I am skilled enough to assist in that effort."

Musubi's stomach suddenly let out a cavernous rumble, and Minato took a second to look at her with one arched eyebrow. Musubi simply smiled, though she was at least bashful enough to blush, and gently patted her stomach. "But before we do that," she said, almost shyly, "I guess I should eat something, right?"

* * *

**8:30 AM**

After a delicious, quick breakfast, Musubi, fully dressed, sat down next to Minato in the part of the garden where Miya had been cutting leaves earlier. Minato himself had changed into an off-white karate gi with a black belt tied around his waist. Ashikabi and Sekirei both were performing the breathing exercise; Miya was sitting, watching them from the porch to their right, as were Kagari, Akitsu, and Uzume, though Kagari's posture was more like a lazy slouch across the porch and Uzume was lying on her belly with one hand propping up her head.

"So what's Sahashi-chan doin' again?" Uzume asked, scratching her head sleepily. She'd rolled out of bed right when breakfast was ready, and while Miya had made sure to include some for her, she hadn't become too alert after eating it and was still trying to shake herself awake.

"These are warm-up exercises that Sahashi-san has to do before he starts practicing," Miya said. "He says that breathing properly is the foundation of his fighting style, and that Musubi-san will need to master this before he can teach her anything aside from the basics. Once they're done, they'll start going over form and technique."

Uzume managed to nod her understanding before letting out a small yawn. Kagari arched an eyebrow as something came to his notice; Musubi had perfectly synchronized her breathing with Minato's, to the point that her shoulders relaxed and rose when his did. He gave Miya a sidelong glance, and she noticed it, nodding with a slight smile, then returned her focus to Minato and Musubi. _Musubi has an innate talent for understanding how to control her body, it seems,_ she thought._ And though I know little of what that Masaru fellow could do, I'm interested to see what he passed along to his son._

At length, Minato stood up, and so did Musubi; they both let out a final breath, then opened their eyes. Minato turned to Musubi and gave a thumbs-up, complete with cheesy grin. "You've got it, Musubi-san. Your breathing was perfect. Though it would probably be a bit different if I weren't doing it with you, you're probably good enough to practice it on your own now."

Musubi's smile practically split her face, and she clapped excitedly.

"I still can't teach you any of the really heavy stuff until I'm sure that you can actually use the breathing technique while actually fighting, and that's going to take a while," he said, and Musubi deflated visibly, pouting. Minato's response was to chuckle and shake his head. "You're pretty light on your feet, and pretty in tune with your body. I don't think I'll have a lot to teach you; I'll probably wind up correcting a lot of things as opposed to starting from the beginning. So, let's begin with the basic Rindoukan stance."

He turned his back to Miya, Uzume, and Kagari, then shifted his legs apart, bending them slightly. His left hand clenched into a fist, and he drew it up to waist level and pulled his elbow back, holding it at his side. His right hand remained open, but his fingers were pressed together, as if he were about to chop someone with it. What struck Musubi the most about the pose was that he was barely moving once he settled into it. Aside from a natural adjustment here or there, or a small, involuntary movement, Minato held himself almost completely still.

"The key," Minato said suddenly, causing Musubi to blink her way back to the conscious world, "is to keep your body ready. You are anticipating a movement from your opponent, but you are not going to react to it before the opponent does it. Rindoukan emphasizes deliberation when on the defensive and full effort when on the offensive, so if you attempt to be aggressive, you have to have an appropriate window of time. If you are faster than your opponent, then you may find success in initiating an attack, but that's not always the case."

Musubi nodded slowly, absorbing what Minato was telling her while trying to get a good look at how he was holding himself. _If I can see it, then I can do it just as easily as the breathing exercise, _she told herself. Then,with the same careful deliberation that Minato had used, she mirrored his actions, and pulled off a picture-perfect duplicate of the stance.

Minato straightened up and began to walk around Musubi, carefully analyzing her foot placement and the way she was holding herself. He had to gently push one of her booted feet inward using his own, and lower her leading hand slightly, but overall, she'd gotten it down. _Now the challenge starts, _Minato thought to himself, rubbing his chin. "All right, Musubi-san. Start doing the breathing exercise. If it makes you shift your body a little bit, it's all right, that's supposed to happen. Otherwise, you're holding yourself too stiffly and impeding your motion. If you shift too far out of place, I'll let you know."

Musubi nodded her head without turning to look at him. "Yes, Minato-sama!"

Her usual form of address reminded him of yet another habit he'd have to work to correct with her, and he said, "When I'm teaching you, Musubi-san, it would be best if you just called me Minato-shishou, or sir. Either one is fine."

Musubi's response was to smile broadly and nod again. "OK, Minato-shishou!"

Uzume shifted on the porch and laughed a bit as she tapped the side of her face with her finger. She had a sly grin slapped onto her face. "Serious about this whole teacher thing, aren't we, Sahashi-chan?" she said. "Never figured you to be one for formality."

"It's the way Dad taught me," Minato said, scratching his head as his expression became more pensive. "He told me that when you're on the practice field, you don't let your relationship off of the field define anything you do. If your brother is your senpai, you address him as such. If your mother is your master, you call her shishou. I called my dad shishou all the time whenever we practiced, and my sister called me senpai if dad was training both of us at the same time."

"Where is your father now, Minato-shishou?" Musubi asked, not even breaking her stance as she spoke to him.

Minato's face grew even more solemn, his lips pressing together into a thin line. "He's been off on a training trip for the last year or so. He left right after he dropped me off here to start getting ready for entrance exams. I think he's gone into total seclusion though—I don't hear anything from him, aside from an occasional letter."

"Terribly old-fashioned for this day and age," Kagari said, rubbing his chin as he sat up, "and he doesn't sound like the kind that would be so careless as to drop off the face of the earth. Are you sure he's all right?"

"It's happened before," Minato replied, folding his arms. "When I was younger, there would be times where he'd take me somewhere during summer, train with me, then drop me back with my grandmother and go off somewhere for a while. This is longer than usual, but...Mom is certain he's all right." He frowned. "It takes a lot to bother her, but with Dad she's always been more prone to getting worked up when she's worried about him, and she's been pretty much the same as always recently. So, if him being gone for so long is OK with her, then..." He shook his head, clearing his crestfallen expression. "I don't really want to talk about it any more than that. Musubi-san. We're ready to move on to punches and kicks."

The atmosphere had changed for the worse, if only a little bit, and no one missed that fact. For her part, Musubi simply nodded and clenched her closed fist all the more, still holding her stance. "I'm ready, Minato-shishou! Please, teach me!"

* * *

**9:30 AM**

An hour's time came and went before Minato stopped his practice with Musubi and went upstairs to do some independent study, leaving her to practice the basics on her own for a while. In that one hour, Miya Asama came to understand a lot of things about her new tenant that she hadn't been expecting to learn. As she began to put together lunch over the worn metal of the kitchen sink, she reflected on what she had learned and what it told her about Minato's character.

The first was that he was, for a human, exceptionally fit. He demonstrated several kinds of blows, throws, and movements for Musubi, even if he only taught her a specific subset of what he knew, and seemed only slightly winded by the effort. She hadn't been able to confirm it, but it seemed that even with what he knew being on display, he'd still held back somewhat, as if not to tip his hand to Musubi too early and keep her from absorbing the basic lessons.

His second admirable trait was a strong sense of patience and an understanding of his art. When Musubi overstepped during a punch, he gently corrected her, each and every time she tried it again, until she got it right. When she did well, he praised her without puffing her up. No matter what they were doing, he was absorbed in making sure that Musubi understood what he was showing her and why he was showing her, and never once did he misstep in the advice that he gave to her.

The final one was the most important so far as she was concerned; he was legitimately invested in teaching Musubi. He had yet to say or imply that he'd witnessed Musubi operating in a combat situation, but Miya could tell that Minato was fully aware of how powerful his Sekirei was. Though Musubi needed teaching like anyone else, he could have been much less thorough and gotten short-term results that were ten times better than what he could have expected from any human student. However, he never once slackened his pace, whether he was demonstrating moves to her or being demonstrated on by her. He bore her occasionally overzealous punches with little more than a grinning grimace, rather than using it as an excuse to stop. He didn't take a break until she did, and was up to work with her whenever she was done resting.

_Overall, a fine man,_ Miya decided, chopping up a leek on her wooden cutting board with three expert slices and sweeping it into the pot she was going to cook with. She reached for another one from the pile of seasonings that was next to the sink and repeated the action, leaving a neat pile that was added to the pot. _Musubi got quite lucky with an Ashikabi like him. Even if there isn't much he can do give her experience with opponents on a Sekirei's level, what he has to teach her in tandem with what I can do will undoubtedly prepare her. _She then grabbed a tomato and deftly cut it into quartered pieces, then split those further with a small sigh. _Still, I wonder if it will be enough. This plan...Minaka has been working on this for a long time. There are truly some monsters out there, and if they challenge her she won't walk away cleanly unless she is absolutely the best._

Minato chose that moment to wander into the kitchen, and Miya almost turned to greet him, except that she hard him speaking with someone and decided to listen just a bit (not eavesdrop, she told herself, because she was a proper lady and proper ladies didn't do that). "Just make sure that if you're going to come for more than a visit that you bring your gi, Yukari," he said as he stepped through the open door. Even though Miya didn't turn to him, she could tell that he was on the phone when she heard a tinny female voice reply to him.

"_I know, onii-chan, I didn't forget what Dad taught us about sparring. 'Rindoukan fighters show honor to each other by dressin' the part, not just fightin' each other any which way'." _Yukari's voice briefly mimicked a country accent while repeating her father's words; it was sarcastic, but tinged with affection, and based on how she'd addressed Minato, Miya was positive that the speaker was in fact Minato's younger sister.

"I hope you also remember what he taught you about being a sore loser," Minato said, closing one eye as he scratched his head with his free pinky finger. Yukari's response was to shout indignantly, causing her older brother to flinch and grimace.

"_I'm not a little kid anymore, onii-chan! Don't treat me like the same little sister you left behind to go to Shintou Teitou!"_

"Then, you'll need to prove it," Minato replied, and then, he smiled. "I'll see you in a few hours, OK? Be careful on your way over here."

Yukari snorted in annoyance, but Miya could tell that she wasn't as offended as she appeared when she spoke again. _"See you soon, onii-chan."_

Chuckling, Minato closed the phone, then looked over to Miya, who had since stopped pretending to be busy with the seasonings in the sink and was watching him curiously.

"Why, Sahashi-san, who was that?" Miya asked.

Gingerly, Minato rubbed the ear that his phone had been pressed up against. "My little sister Yukari. She got into Shinteidai Women's University and moved into town yesterday, and wants to come see me today to catch up." His eyes rolled as he spoke the last two words and Miya immediately caught on to what he was implying.

"She's got a bit of a complex, I take it," Miya said, fully turning away from the sink with her fake smile on her face. "Sahashi-san, did you bully your little sister with your superior power and ability when you were children?" As she finished her sentence, a whisper of her foreboding aura of intimidation settled in the air. Given its weakness, Minato ignored it through sheer force of will, shaking his head.

"To be honest, if we're talking about pure power, Yukari could beat me every single time, and she used to win a lot when we were kids. In terms of technique, we're about even, so I only win these days because we approach Rindoukan differently."

Miya's ears perked up at this, and the weak aura vanished. She'd heard bits and pieces of Rindoukan philosophy during Minato's practice with Musubi, and it had been rather interesting to hear from Minato himself what his fighting style strove to embody even as he taught Musubi how to fight. "Approach it differently? How so?"

"My father always said that Rindoukan favors those with a balance between power, speed, and technique, or at least favors those that can manage two of the three relatively well," Minato said, counting off each factor with one of his fingers. "I personally focus on speed and technique, so I tend to be patient, dodging attacks until the time is right. Yukari prefers to work on her power and technique, so she's aggressively sticking on the opponent until she can hit with a move that will leave them vulnerable for more crippling blows." He sighed as he sat down in one of the chairs around the square table at the center of the room. "In other words, two different approaches to the same end goal—breach your enemy's defense and then break them in half."

"It's like the tiger and the dragon, then," Miya said with a smile. "One is straightforward and powerful, the other is evasive and technical. Rather cliché, don't you think?"

Minato shrugged. "Somewhat, but I guess it fits. Anyway, she said she'd be over in the early afternoon, and she's probably going to want a spar. It's not what I was planning on, but I might be able to show Musubi-san what it'll be like once she gets better than me."

Miya walked away from the sink and stood in front of Minato with a soft smile. "My, my. Why are you saying it like that? As if Musubi-san will surpass your skill level so quickly."

"I'm no fool, Asama-san," Minato replied, rubbing his forehead with the fingertips of one hand and pocketing his phone with the other. "I'm well aware that Musubi-san's already capable of outpacing me on her worst day. Teaching her Rindoukan is going to widen that gap significantly faster—she'll probably be better than me in a few months, tops."

Miya began to wonder if she would need to reconsider her complimentary thoughts about Minato; his voice sounded somewhat defeated and lacked enthusiasm from what she was hearing. She would have to bait him into revealing his honest thoughts about the subject."You sound so certain of the fact. Are you a bit jealous, perhaps?"

Minato caught the slight accusation in her voice, and his response was immediate, punctuated by his decision to stand up and look Miya directly in the eyes. "Not at all. If it makes her stronger, then I don't care who ends up stronger than who." His expression softened a bit, but it was still fairly serious. "I want her to be as strong as possible, because I'm not going to lose her. I got a little short-tempered with her on the first day that we met, and she wound up telling me what happens to Sekirei that are defeated. She's already shown me that she doesn't want to leave." He thought back to the star-gazing that he'd done with Musubi and Akitsu the night before, thought back to the few meals they'd shared together, to his first kiss with Musubi, and even to the first time he'd seen her flying out of the sky and into his arms. All of those moments had been interesting, but it was Musubi's warm smile, and later, Akitsu's constant presence, that made him realize something that he then put to words. "And, to be honest, I don't want her to leave. That's reason enough for me to make her as strong as she can be."

Miya met his serious expression with one of her own, and after a moment more, nodded and smiled. "Well said, Sahashi-san. You're quite eloquent."

"I was on the Debate Team back in high school," Minato replied, managing a small smile and a blush as he pocketed his phone, realizing that he hadn't put it away after talking with his mother. "They encouraged that kind of language when you wanted to make a particularly strong point. I didn't mean to be pushy, I just...well, that is..."

Miya laughed gently as Minato's face got slightly red while he tried to find the right words to speak. "Sahashi-san. It's all right. I understand what you were getting at. Just do your best, and you'll be all right. And don't hesitate to ask me for help, all right?"

As the blush cleared from Minato's face, he found the nerve to finally raise his head and somewhat look at Miya directly. "Even if it involves...you know...the Plan?" he asked.

"Even if it involves the Plan," Miya replied, her smile not once shrinking. "I know you're the type to resolve your burdens on your own, but no man is an island, Sahashi-san."

After a moment, Minato managed to smile again, and gave Miya a grateful nod of the head before leaving. She watched him go without comment, then went back to the sink and continued preparing lunch with that same soft smile on her face.

* * *

**12:30 PM**

Though he didn't quite have to bother since he'd gotten into Shinteidai, Minato's habitual study continued, mostly because he had nothing else to read thanks to his relentless studying habits prior to the entrance exams. Falling back on old habits was almost inevitable, and he was so concentrated on his studies that the hours flew by and he wasn't disturbed until a familiar voice sounded at the front door. "Onii-chan! I'm here!"

Sighing, he got up from his study table and stretched a few times before leaving his room and heading downstairs. If he had looked behind him as he went down, he would have seen the wall at the top of the stairs tilt inward slightly, which allowed a mysterious red-haired woman to pop her head out of the darkness behind the wall. Through her round-framed glasses, she stared at his back for a moment before she let out a giggle of mischief and retreated back into the wall, which fixed itself as if nothing had happened.

As he came to the last pair of steps, Yukari began to call again. "Onii-chan, you slowpoke! Are you doing perverted things in your room again? I can't believe you're trying to get evicted before spending a full night in here!"

Minato turned a dark shade of red, crossed the foyer in two quick strides, and opened the front door. "Yukari, would you cut that out?" he said, grimacing. "If Asama-san actually heard you saying that I really _would _get evicted. Or maybe even worse."

Yukari Sahashi, dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt and a black miniskirt, simply folded her arms, and smirked as she tapped her thick-heeled black boot on the ground. "Well, it got you here quickly, didn't it?"

Minato rolled his eyes and sighed, taking note of the golden, cross-shaped clip in her dark black hair as well as the inverted black cross design that was outlined on her red tie. Her black, circle-buckle belt was fairly stylish as well, sitting at an angle on her hip and slightly off-center, as the style was these days. "You've started to actually start caring about how you look since I've been gone. You used to dress so plainly before."

Yukari's response was to take the white duffel bag slung over her shoulder and hit Minato with it, sticking out her tongue at him. "Not like you're any better, onii-chan. All you ever wear around the house are white shirts and jeans."

"I'm a guy, I'm allowed to have simple taste in clothing," Minato replied with a sharp grin, leaning against the door frame. "With the clothes you used to wear, you could have been mistaken for my little brother."

Yukari let out a squawk of anger, but before Minato could continue teasing her, Miya stepped up behind him. "My, my, Sahashi-san. You truly are the cruel older brother type, aren't you? You lied to me."

"And that's because she's the bratty little sister type," Minato said to her, straightening up and stepping back so that Yukari could come in. Once she'd removed her shoes, Minato closed the door behind her and gestured to Miya. "Yukari, this is my landlady, Miya Asama. Asama-san, this is my sister Yukari."

Yukari immediately pulled off a picture-perfect bow. "Thank you very much for taking care of my big brother, Asama-san. He's a bit of a handful sometimes."

"He's behaved himself quite well so far," Miya replied, hiding a few giggles behind her hand. "I don't think he'll be much of a problem."

At that moment, Musubi came around the corner, slightly out of breath and lightly sweating from her exercises. "Minato-sama? Landlady-sama? I thought I heard someone calling for their big brother just now."

The second that Yukari laid eyes on Musubi, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. _Look at the size of that bust! And that figure, that cuteness! On top of that, she called my brother Minato-sama? What the hell is going on here? _"Mom told me that you'd gotten a girlfriend, onii-chan, but I didn't know she was a babe!" Yukari said aloud, flushing red. "How did you land a girl like this? I'm almost jealous!"

Musubi blinked a few times, seeming to completely miss the implication, while Minato smacked his palm into his face at his sister's antics and Miya simply giggled.

"Don't give them the wrong impression, Yukari," he mumbled into his palm. "Please? I really don't need the mental image of you unintentionally flirting with my girlfriend."

"It's not flirting, it's appreciation of the female figure in a platonic and friendly way," Yukari replied, clicking the heel of her black boots on the ground as she turned away from Musubi and back to Minato. "Anyway, that's enough of that." Her smile faded away and her eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. "Onii-chan. We can catch up later. You know what I'm really here for." She looked down at her duffel bag, and Minato pulled his hand from his face, relaxing his annoyed scowl to scratch the side of his head and sigh.

"I'll go change. You can borrow Musubi-san's room if you like."

Musubi took the cue pretty much exactly as it was presented. "I'll show you where it is, Yukari-san! Come with me, please!" With that, the Sekirei took Yukari's hand and pulled her upstairs before she could react. Minato just groaned again and followed after them to get his gi from his room.

* * *

**12:45 PM**

Fifteen minutes later, everyone in the Inn, barring Uzume (who was not sleeping for once, but out on errands of some sort) was down on the first floor. Minato and Yukari were standing in the yard, of course, face to face with each other and locking eyes without a word. On the porch, Miya, Akitsu, Musubi, and Kagari had their eyes on the two Rindoukan fighters standing in front of them.

To no one's surprise, Yukari's gi was similar in color and appearance to Minato's, down to the stitched pads on the elbows and the knees. There were, however, a few differences. Minato was wearing a black undershirt with his gi, while Yukari was sporting a red tank top. Additionally, Yukari had a yellow headband tied around her neck, with the ends draped outside of her gi and falling down her back.

"Minato-senpai," she said, sliding into her stance. "I challenge you!" Her voice was hard and cutting, now, nothing like the teasing tones it had when Minato greeted her at the door.

Minato simply nodded in reply and duplicated her action. "And I accept, Yukari. Come any time you like."

With a roar, Yukari charged her older brother, jumping forward with her fist pulled back. Minato smoothly stepped to the side as her punch hit empty air, and jabbed out with a punch from his leading hand, aiming for her side. The blow struck true, but Yukari let it push her without flinching, then returned the favor with a punch to his face. On reflex, he stepped backward and took his stance again, as did she. But only for a moment—as soon as they were both settled, Yukari charged in again, probing Minato's defenses with light punches instead of the hay-maker she'd started off with.

_Either that first punch was just to tempt me or she's seriously reconsidered her attack strategy, _Minato thought, striking at her wrists with his palms to deflect some of the punches she threw, or ducking out of the way of a few heavier ones; to the observers, it looked like he was either swaying around like a tree in a storm or pushing the air, depending on what action he was taking. _Regardless, she's definitely gotten faster, and stronger._ _I really can't treat her the same way if I expect to win. _

Yukari grinned suddenly, and midway through her next punch, straightened her hand out and pulled it to the side, aiming to chop at Minato's ribs instead of punching him again. Minato saw it coming and raised his right hand, catching the chop before it could hit, then kicked Yukari in the stomach to knock her back. Gritting her teeth, Yukari dug her heels into the ground, then extended her leading hand briefly, pulling her other one up to her face and clenching it into a fist. Before Minato could react, she moved like a blur—then, she became solid again, and all he could see was her fist flying at him. Minato took a breath, and channeled the growing ki into his left hand as he raised it to his face. Yukari's fist made a meaty THWACK sound as it hit his palm, and even with his increased strength, his hand was still trembling as it held hers back.

On the spectators' side of things, Musubi's hands, resting in her lap, clenched tightly enough to make her gloves creak. Akitsu appeared to be watching the fight with her usual passivity, but looking closely, her brown eyebrows were lowered slightly and her eyes were narrower than usual. Kagari seemed disinterested, but his experience in certain combat matters had him re-appraising his initial impression about Minato. Miya was simply smiling the entire time.

"As expected from onii-chan, not even a Hayate can stop you," Yukari said, grinning fiendishly as she pushed her fist forward. "But, what if I stop holding back for just one minute? Will you take me seriously then?"

"You got me to use my breathing, and if you are holding back, you're doing a pretty good job of hiding it," Minato replied, pushing against her fist without even flinching. "Trust me, I'm taking this seriously."

Yukari scoffed and hopped back, breaking their deadlock and shaking her hand. The impact with Minato's palm had sent a strong buzzing sensation through it; it felt like she'd hit a brick wall with her bare fist. "Not seriously enough. Neither of us was using breathing until after I hit you that first time. Didn't shishou teach us better than that?"

Minato sighed. "I was just taking it easy on you, Yucchi. I thought you'd appreciate it. Kind of dumb of me, I guess." He readied himself once more, remembering her threat from just moments before. "But you'd better not be thinking of using Tanden Renki. Dad only taught us the basics, and even if you can control your ki better than I can, neither of us can make it last more than a minute and a half at best. It's too dangerous for a spar."

Musubi began to get a little bit antsy, visibly starting to tremble. "This must be an amazing technique," she whispered to no one in particular. "I want to see it."

For a moment, it looked like Yukari was going to protest, but Minato gave her a hard, serious glare, and she sighed. "Fine then. I won't. But that means you better fight me seriously!" After a moment's thought, she added, "And don't call me Yucchi! Only Dad gets to call me that!"

"Just don't use it," Minato said, letting his eyebrows relax. "Now, enough talking. Are you gonna come at me or not?"

Yukari's response was to take a breath, and then dash forward. Minato waited patiently for her to stop running, and so was surprised when she kicked her foot to the side and darted around him instead of continuing or stopping the charge. While she passed him, she fired off a flurry of punches, and Minato had no choice but to block them instead of repelling them. Then, one of them went lower than he expected, catching him square in the stomach. Yukari shouted in excitement as she landed in a crouch; by the time Minato regained his footing, she had already dashed in on him again, holding one of her fists perpendicular to the ground as she pointed her knuckles toward the underside of his chin. Then, she yelled, expelling the rest of her stored breath, and thrust her fist straight upward, catching Minato in a powerful uppercut.

"CHESTO!"

Though Minato's head was spinning, he recognized the move he'd been hit with. _Damn, a reverse Fukiage. And now I'm open for something else..._ On instinct, he parted his lips slightly and inhaled, filling his body with ki and letting it seep into every fiber of his being. If it was circulating through him when Yukari's followup attacks came, he could take the punishment and walk away with little worse than a headache and a few new lumps.

On the ground, Yukari bent her knees and took a breath, then exhaled it as she sprang up to where her brother was about to start falling. Her body turned away from him on the way up, only to to face forward as she whirled around with an axe kick that caught Minato's shoulder and sent him back to the ground. Musubi gasped and began to get up, presumably to catch Minato, but it was too late; she wasn't even halfway standing before he hit the ground belly-first and lay there. Yukari landed shortly afterward, staying crouched down for a moment before standing up.

Akitsu's entire body went rigid as a board, and in the blink of an eye, she was fully upright, while Kagari was sitting up and gaping; he could have sworn that the ground actually shook from that last impact. Miya was simply sitting where she was and frowning, though less because she was upset and more because she was deep in thought. _A blow like that, delivered with a Sekirei's strength, would leave even me senseless if I didn't anticipate and block it in time, _she thought. _Just what kind of a style is this?_

"Minato-sama!" Musubi cried. "Minato-sama, are you OK? Minato-sama!"

Minato's body lay motionless for a while, and then, very slowly, began to move again. With a grunt, he got onto his hands and knees, then rolled backward, sitting up with a half-dead look in his eyes. "Man, I really got careless," he muttered, brushing dirt and dust out of his hair. "Yukari, I yield. For some reason I'm seeing way too many stars for the time of day that it is."

Surprisingly, Yukari didn't respond as Minato would have expected; instead of breaking out into happy cheers, she walked over and offered her hand to Minato. When he took it, she pulled him to his feet and allowed him to lean on her. "Are you OK, onii-chan?" she asked, her voice oddly quiet.

Immediately, Minato understood why she was upset, and smiled to comfort her, but internally, the gears began to spin. She had never been one to fear her strength—respect it, yes, but not fear it. She knew what it could do if she was careless, but she hadn't ever gotten so subdued after showing it off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, you didn't break anything. Breathing technique saves the day again."

Yukari shook her head and ruffled his hair, leading him over to the porch and helping him step up as if he were made of glass. "Don't scare me like that next time. For a second I thought I..."

"See, this is why I told you to not use the Tanden Renki," Minato said, and though his smile was gentle, his words carried a hint of reproach. "Imagine what you would have done to me if you used that combo while it was active."

Seeing that Minato wasn't in a state to be tackle-hugged right now, Musubi did her best to hold back the instinct, which resulted in her standing where she was and trembling like she was about to burst. "Minato-sama!"

Minato looked over at his Sekirei, then at Akitsu, Kagari, and Miya. Their varying reactions—worry, shock, confusion—reminded him about what they'd just witnessed, and he gently pulled away from his sister, standing up on his own two feet. Musubi immediately rushed in and hugged him as tightly as she thought he could stand, and Akitsu stared daggers at her back in the least subtle way possible. "Minato-sama, I was so worried. You were just lying there and you weren't moving and it was really scary and I thought—"

"I'm OK, Musubi-san," Minato said, lowering his voice just for her to hear, and acting on instinct, he reached up and patted her back a few times. "Let's just say that the breathing technique does more than make you hit harder. I'll explain more some other time." He then looked over to where Akitsu was standing again, and noticed the hurt and fear in her eyes.

"As long as you're all right, Minato-sama. That's all that matters to me," Musubi whispered into his chest. The hint that he'd given about how he was still in perfect condition was fairly obvious to her—the breathing technique had strengthened his body before impact. None of that mattered so long as she could hear his heartbeat and feel the lingering tenseness in his muscled body, and that was enough for her panicked heart to settle a little bit; yet, the image of his body lying motionless on the ground wouldn't leave her mind, and she clutched him tighter.

Smiling, Minato patted Musubi's back only one more time before gently pulling away from her, and Musubi stared up at him in confusion on until she turned to Akitsu as well and saw the concern of the other Sekirei. Slowly, Minato tottered over to Akitsu, and her focused glare relaxed as he came within arm's reach, though she was still stiff and ill at ease. "Minato-sama." Her voice cracked just slightly as she finished saying his name, and she took a moment to pause before continuing to speak. "That was dangerous."

_She even sounds less calm than normal_, Minato realized, and when he watched her, he could see that she was trembling, if only minutely, now that he was closer._ I really freaked her out just now. _"That's just the way my fights with are," he said to her. "I'll be fine if I get off my feet for a bit."

"Onii-chan! How can you just leave behind your girlfriend so carelessly to talk to some other girl?"

Both Minato and Akitsu looked over at Yukari, who puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms as she stared at them. Now that he was moving around, all worry about his condition was seemingly gone. "She was worried about you and all you do is pat her back a few times and say some silly things before you just go off and comfort another woman! What kind of boyfriend are you?"

The stare that Akitsu sent her way would have normally sent a river flowing upstream, but Yukari Sahashi had no fear of death glares. Mostly because her mother's had been more frightening than anything Akitsu could conceive of sending her way.

"It's not like that," Minato said, rubbing his forehead to ward off the incoming headache. "Akitsu-san and I are good friends, but...not in the same way Musubi-san and I are." _Not really a lie, though it's probably going to hurt Akitsu-san's feelings to hear it._

To his distinct lack of surprise, Yukari contested the point by marching up to Minato and poking him rather fiercely in the chest. "And when are you gonna stop being so formal with her? Musubi-san this, Musubi-san that! She's your girlfriend, so be more affectionate! What's so hard about just calling her Musubi or Musubi-chan or something cuter?"

Minato blushed at what she was trying to push him into, but kept his tone firm even as he went along with her assumption. "Yukari, Musubi-san is _my_ girlfriend. She and I are comfortable referring to each other the way we do for right now and if we want to change that, we will, without your input. Don't be nosy, or I'll do the same thing to you when YOUR boyfriend comes around for a visit."

That did the trick, as Yukari went red as a beet and said not a word more. Minato then turned to Miya and smiled, though it was a bit weaker than he would have liked since he was still sore. "Asama-san, didn't you have lunch ready for us?"

The landlady stood up smoothly. "I did indeed. I'll warm it up in the oven and we can eat it."

* * *

**1:15 PM**

Minato didn't expect warm soup eaten in the middle of the day to make him feel so much less sore, but somehow, it did.

As he sat at the living room table with Musubi, Akitsu, Miya, and Kagari, he wished privately that Yukari hadn't seen fit to excuse herself and go home after making sure that he was absolutely all right—she would have loved to have some of it, he was certain. He was still concerned with her behavior after she picked him up, though—it was so out of character for her that it kept nagging him_. _Behind him, the news played a short snippet about overgrowth in the Arboretum that seemed to just pop up overnight, but he didn't notice it, being lost in his thoughts about Yukari.

Then, Miya said, a bit loudly for her, "Sahashi-san?"

Immediately, he snapped his head up and looked at her. "Yes, Asama-san?"

"I don't think you ever told us where exactly your style of Karate came from. What do you know about it?"

Kagari, Musubi, and Akitsu shifted their attention to her, then to Minato; again, Minato got the sense of dread that told him Miya's question wasn't as innocent as it appeared to be, but he answered regardless; he could feel the hint of her 'aura' in the air again and wasn't keen on feeling it full force by playing dumb. "My dad told me that it's loosely related to Shotokan Karate. His great-grandfather started Rindoukan based on what he learned from that school, and over the years, Dad's grandfather and father shaped into what it is now."

Miya noticed the way that Minato referred to his ancestors as his father's relatives and not his own, and made a mental note to speak with him about it later.

"Is there anything special about the style that sets it apart from others?" Kagari asked, taking Miya's silence as a cue to interject.

Minato resisted the urge to bite his lip.

"_Can't tell just anyone about 'ki', Min," _his father's voice reminded him, an echo of a conversation they'd had long ago. "_If you're gonna teach someone Rindoukan, or you can trust 'em with a secret, go on ahead. Otherwise, keep it to yourself. Ain't everyone's business t' know how to use it or what it is. Some people can't use it, and other people will just use it for all the wrong reasons." _

_I'm sorry, Asama-san, _he thought, _but...a secret is a secret._

"It's basically an invented style," Minato said, committing to the half-truth without flinching. "Even if it's got roots in Shotokan, by most people's standards it's just some self-taught hodgepodge of styles." Though he still felt butterflies in his stomach at avoiding the main issue, the frown crossing his face was all too natural. "Dad said that he's entered tournaments to demonstrate it and been laughed at all the way through, even after making it into the top 8 or top 4 consistently. No one takes it seriously." He stared to the side for a moment, clenching one of his hands into a fist. "That's why I wanted to get into Shinteidai so badly. A degree would help me get a good, stable job, and pay to restore Dad's family dojo. Then, I could help him, train some of the students..." A faraway look came to his eye, but he ran a hand through his hair before he could get more distracted. "And now that I've actually gotten in, I..." He wished bitterly that he could talk about the Sekirei Plan, but Miya's rules hung over his head like the executioner's axe, and he said, lamely, "I've got so many other things to worry about. I don't know how I'm going to do it."

To everyone's surprise, Musubi was the first to respond to Minato's pessimistic remark. "That's not important, Minato-sama!" she said, gently smacking the table with both hands. Minato gave her a quizzical stare, as did everyone else at the table (except Akitsu, who simply looked at her as flatly as always), and she blushed for a moment before adding, "All that maters is that you never lose sight of your goal, is what I mean to say. You don't have to know how you're going to do it, you just need to know that you will. And I know that you will because you're you, Minato-sama. You make things happen no matter what it takes!"

Musubi's words might have been a bit clumsy, but Minato understood what she was getting at. Though he felt like he didn't deserve all the confidence she was putting into him, her enthusiasm was almost enough for five people, and he couldn't help but feel uplifted by that. "Thanks, Musubi," he said. "Sometimes I wonder why you have such faith in me."

She smiled at him, lighting up her entire face. "Because I'm your girlfriend! You said so!"

Minato almost succeeded in stopping the choked cough that came out of his mouth at that declaration, while Miya simply chuckled behind her hand and Kagari smiled with one eye closed. Akitsu simply looked between Minato and Musubi, and unbeknownst to either, frowned a little bit as a stab of jealousy worked its way into her heart.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_A bit later than normal due to some real-life obligations, but here is Chapter 4. Here we get to see that Yukari is kind of the same and kind of isn't. Having a dad around to give you a few checks when you get to be a bit too overbearing tends to mellow out your personality a bit. It also helps when your brother doesn't let you run roughshod over him nearly as easily as he does in some bizarro universe where you didn't have a dad really._

_We also have a fight from the main character for the first time, and in general the first fight since the first chapter. As I've implied earlier, Minato not being on the level of the Sekirei means that he doesn't get to actually do a lot of fighting per se. I always wanted to aim for more character/relationship study with this story, and less fighting, so it's kind of deliberate that scenes like this don't show up a lot._

_Of course, once the next stage of the plan comes into play, all bets are off._

_Review Response:_

_As always, thanks to the reviewers without specific questions._

_Rebell: Mostly, Masaru exists as someone that Minato looks up to and cares about. It's Masaru's example of living and fighting hard and staying in control that Minato modeled himself after, and the end result is the Minato that exists in the storyline today. The actual things Masaru taught Minato about fights will be important later, though. I promise._

_Anzer'ke: In some chapters it's a little tough to get the dichotomy between naive and wise for Musubi down pat. You bringing it up does mean I will try to keep an eye on it in the future, though. And as for Tsukiumi's speech patterns, I'll put it like this: I'd rather not botch Shakespeare's style to match the dub, but she won't speak as casually as Minato and the others do. In fact, writing Tsukiumi's dialogue is really fun because I have an excuse to be more verbose than usual._

_So thanks to Phantasy Star Online 2 and Dungeon Fighter Online and other things, progress on the in-progress chapters has been slow. Hopefully by sometime next week I'll be putting Chapter 9 on paper; since next update isn't until the 20th or so I should have enough time to pull it off._

_In the meantime I should probably get myself some food for tonight._

_Take care, and enjoy. See you all July 20th._

_~ZS_


	5. The Bellflower and the Green Girl

_To say that Minato was extremely confused at the moment would be an understatement._

_The last thing he remembered was going to sleep on his futon in Izumo Inn, and the next thing he knew, he was wide awake and sitting in a wild, overgrown forest with spongy grass beneath his bare feet. As he tried to puzzle out how the hell he'd gotten here, a young girl's voice carried through the dark air, pleading and frightened._

"_Someone, help me..."_

_At first, it startled him, but when she repeated itself, Minato shook himself out of his stupor and ran towards the source of the girl's voice. As he got deeper into the forest, the grass became thicker and gnarled roots ran along the ground; now and then he barely avoided stumbling over them, and there was a point where he did fall flat on his face, causing dirt to blind him and choke him. As he peeled his face off the ground, spitting out chunks of turf that had nestled between his teeth, the girl cried out for help again._

"_Please, someone! Help me! I'm scared...I'm so scared..."_

_With a grunt, Minato sprang to his feet, wiped his mouth, and dashed forward again, ignoring the loss of light around him and the increasingly treacherous terrain, until he came to a thick wall of grass. Thanks to the canopy above becoming extremely thick, impenetrable by light, he could only barely see it. After pushing his hand against it to see how pliable it was, and finding that it had a lot of give, he gathered his ki with a deep breath and shoved his bare foot straight into the barrier. He wedged his hands in the new opening and pulled it wider, allowing light from the next area to stream in._

"_I'm coming, just hang on," he muttered as he shouldered his way inside._

* * *

_On the other side of the wall, he found himself in a grove with a fairly tall tree. The grass between his toes was soft again, and there were fragrant flowers all around him. A small, hesitant sniff came from the very top of the tree, and he looked up to see a small figure in white, with long, messy brown-blonde hair, huddled up to the trunk, clutching it like a life preserver._

"_Hey!" Minato called. "Are you OK up there?"_

_The girl turned to look at him, and Minato could practically see the relief in her watering green eyes. "I'm scared," she whispered. "Because of me, Takami-nee-chan got hurt really bad. I wanted to come outside and then...then a mean Ashikabi came with his Sekirei, and..."_

_Minato's blood went cold. Only one woman called Takami (that he knew of) had anything to do in the slightest with Sekirei and Ashikabi, and if she'd been hurt by **anyone**, then they would have more than hell to pay. However, he put aside his anger to focus on the problem in front of him—that problem being the girl stuck in the tree._

"_Jump down," he said to her. "I'll catch you."_

_At first, she clutched the tree tighter and shook her head rapidly. Her eyes grew even wetter and Minato might have called the expression on her face a cute pout were it not for the fact she was trembling badly. He took a breath, and raised his hands up, motioning towards her with his fingers._

"_I'm going to catch you, I promise. I won't drop you and I won't get hurt."_

_The girl looked at him again, sniffing only one more time, then slowly let go of the tree trunk and turned to face him._

"_I'm going to jump, onii-chan," she whispered, and stepped from the branch._

_Minato braced himself as she tumbled into his arms, and just as he had with Musubi, bent into the shock. Unlike Musubi, though, the girl was fairly light, even more so thanks to his ki, so he had no trouble holding her up after catching her. The girl stared up at him in amazement, then buried her face into his chest. "Onii-chan really did catch me."_

"_I don't break promises," Minato replied, smiling at her. "What's your name?"_

"_Kusano," she replied, clutching his shirt with her tiny hands. "But you can call me Kuu-chan, onii-chan."_

_As he stood there, holding Kusano close to him, Minato felt a gentle sleepiness overcome him; yet, he didn't fall to his knees or drop the smiling girl in his arms. As everything went dark, he felt her warmth in his hands, and heard her say one last thing._

"_Please, onii-chan. Come rescue me for real."_

* * *

_**~Petal 5: The Bellflower and the Green Girl~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou: Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Saturday, 7:00 AM**

Minato's eyes snapped open, filling his vision with the ceiling above him. After a few calming breaths to settle his racing heartbeat, he sat up, feeling a familiar pressure on his right arm and his left leg. _That dream...even in my sleep, I'm thinking about Sekirei now? Great. Just great. _He grabbed his phone from the small table behind him, placed within arm's reach of his futon and just next to the closet. With a press of a button on one side of the top hinge, the clock displayed the time for him on the front LCD panel. _Work starts in an hour and a half. I should try to get some breakfast ready and then head out._

With a sigh, he shifted his eyes to Musubi, who was practically using his entire arm as a pillow, then to Akitsu, who was leaning gently on his leg. Though Musubi, as was her custom, didn't even budge, Akitsu's eyes opened not long after Minato looked at her, and she gracefully withdrew so that he could stand up; however, with Musubi still attached to his arm, that wasn't happening anytime soon. As he and Akitsu looked at each other, Minato recalled the things he'd said to Yukari yesterday about his 'relationship' with Musubi and how Akitsu didn't figure into it. _She's already sensitive about not being __able to have an Ashikabi, and I sort of rubbed it in her face. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if she __just stops talking to me. _

His heart twinged with guilt, and he said, "Akitsu-san. Did I hurt your feelings yesterday?"

One of Akitsu's eyebrows rose slightly in response to the question; Minato used his free hand to scratch the back of his neck, and sighed. "When I said that Musubi-san and I had a different relationship than you and I did, and when I went along with Yukari's assumption that Musubi-san and I were a couple... I should have found a better way to say that. I mean, the relationship between you and me is different than the one I have with Musubi-san, since you're not my Sekirei, but..."

Akitsu's eyebrow dropped, as did the temperature in her voice. She could feel that sharp bite in her heart again. "I see."

Minato analyzed what he'd just said, and immediately bit off a mental swear. "No, that's not...I...what I'm saying is that I care about you even though you're not my Sekirei," he said, trying not to stumble over the words as they tumbled out of his mouth. "Though I'm not your Ashikabi, and I don't _want_ you to treat me like your Ashikabi, I still appreciate it when you worry about me, and your feelings matter to me. _You_ matter to me. So, I'm sorry that I was so thoughtless yesterday."

Akitsu's face didn't change from its neutral expression, and for a moment Minato was afraid that she was still mad at him. Internally, however, she was processing what he said with machine-like precision. _He appreciates my concern. He understands that he hurt my feelings even if I did not say so. _The pain in her chest eased slightly. _He understands me without having to try. Even without a bond...he understands me._

Then, in the middle of that somewhat uncomfortable silence, Akitsu reached out to his face, and cradled it in her hands, regarding his wide gray eyes, before pulling him in for a light, chaste kiss on the lips. The contact Minato had with her cool skin was brief, but it sent a warm feeling through his body that didn't go away when she released him. It wasn't much more than natural body heat, and it didn't last long, but it was so out of character for her that he couldn't help but feel dazed.

"Minato-sama," she said, "even if it is not you that put this mark on my body, I treat you as if you did, because you act as if you did. You fed me. You clothed me. You treated me like a person. And, most importantly, you try to pay attention to my feelings, and understand them. A true Ashikabi does these things without being told. No matter how much you deny it, you are, to me, my Ashikabi." She stood up, looking down on him and Musubi with a softer version of her normal pensive stare, and then she smiled; not a small one like the night that they'd been stargazing, but a little wider and a little broader. For a moment, she seemed completely serene, even with her face half obscured by shadow. Minato felt like everything stopped as he took in the sight, and he almost missed what she said to him next. "So, I will follow you, and hold you precious to my heart, forever and ever. As your Sekirei."

Quietly, she turned on her heel and left his room, shutting the door with a calm ease that Minato only wished he felt. His mild discomfort was soon replaced with terror when Miya turned the doorknob and walked inside, holding a long-necked metal ladle with her not-smile stretching across her face. "My, my, Sahashi-kun," she said, tilting her head slightly. "I thought I warned you earlier that lewd acts in Izumo Inn are forbidden. And here I find you lying with Musubi-san, not to mention that I saw Akitsu-san leaving your room not even five seconds ago. I wonder what kind of punishment I will have to enforce for this flagrant violation of the rules?"

The moment she said punishment, Minato could have sworn that a dark shadow passed over her brow.

"I swear, it's not what it looks like! It really isn't!"

* * *

**3:15 PM**

**Shintou Teitou: Construction Site near the Arboretum**

In the end, Minato wound up leaving the house with a mild scolding from Miya and without breakfast on top of that ("Those who break the rules, don't eat," Miya had said to him, after waking Musubi up with judicious use of her ladle and telling her that she wasn't getting breakfast either). To make things worse, the part time job he'd found was at a construction yard. Under normal circumstances, he could have done the work without even using his breathing techniques, but doing even moderate physical labor on an empty stomach necessitated getting a little creative about using his ki so that he didn't fall over from hunger-induced weakness.

Luckily, Miya had not seen fit to deprive Minato of food entirely, and sent him off with a packed up box lunch, consisting of a few rice balls, a bowl of leftover soup, and a few servings of last night's dinner—grilled chicken and fresh vegetables. The moment that the foreman called for a break, Minato grabbed his lunch and sat down on a pipe, chopsticks in one hand while the other hand peeled the lid off of the box. The fragrant smell wafted into his nose, completely erasing the scent of hard water and concrete mix in the air, and it was all Minato could do to avoid drooling on his food.

"Oh, man, oh, man," he mumbled, licking his lips. "This is gonna be great."

It was then that Minato noticed a shadow hanging over him, and he looked up to see a fellow with shifty eyes, messy black hair and unshaven scruff lining his jawbone. "That looks amazing," the man said, trying to hide the thin line of saliva running down his mouth. "Say, how about you share some of that bounty with a fellow worker?"

Minato stared blankly at the newcomer for a few moments, then breathed deeply. "Let me tell you a story," Minato said, his eyes narrowing. "My female roommates decided that it would be nice to sleep in my room as a prank of sorts. Because my landlady doesn't tolerate 'lewd acts', she gave me no breakfast as punishment, so I have been working for several hours in this heat with an empty stomach. You tell me if I should share the only real meal I have had today with someone whose name I don't even know."

After a few moments of tense silence, the other man broke into a sheepish grin and laughed. "Damn, man. All you had to say was 'no'! Though, with a story like that, I can understand why you'd get mad at me." He rubbed his chin. "Your landlady wouldn't happen to be named Miya Asama, would she?"

Minato blinked, forgetting all annoyance. "Yes, but... How did you know?"

The man chuckled and took a seat on Minato's right side, grunting as he settled onto the pipe. "For starters, that food smells like hers. There's no way I'd ever forget what a home-cooked meal from her is like—my best friend was her husband after all." His grin grew wider. "The other part was just a guess. She's the kind of person that wouldn't feel bad about starving someone if they broke her rules. "

Minato's eyebrows rose—perhaps this scruffy fellow was once a part of MBI as well, which would certainly explain how he and Miya's husband knew each other. "I see." He returned the man's grin with a smile of his own. "So, then, why don't we start over. I'm Minato Sahashi, former repeater and first-year student at Shinteidai."

"Seo Kaoru, sixth-year student," the man replied. "I was a repeater myself once. Have to admit, it was pretty rough, but man, did it feel good to get in."

Minato managed to hold back a snort of laughter when Seo mentioned how long he'd been in college, but if the scruffier man noticed Minato's shoulders shake a bit, he didn't say anything about it. Before the conversation could continue, though, a pair of female voices (eerily familiar to Minato for some reason that made the hair on his neck stand up) called out, "Hey, Seo! Seo!" and both men looked up to see who. Minato's face seemed to pinch inward when he saw the lightning twins Hikari and Hibiki approaching them, dressed in the maid outfits they'd been wearing the other day, and carrying small plastic shopping bags.

Ignorant of Minato's pained facial expression, Seo simply waved and grinned at the twins. "Hikari, Hibiki! About time you got here! I was starving!"

Hikari immediately stormed over to Seo and punched him in the face, knocking him into the wooden fence behind him. "You worthless oaf! You were about to start eating some of this guy's lunch, weren't you? How many times do we have to tell you to quit mooching off of other people!?"

Hibiki bowed hastily to Minato, not noticing his face. "I'm sorry, truly. We've been trying to get him to stop eating other people's food, but he's really stubborn." She raised her head, and her apologetic expression became a flat stare with a frown. "Wait, aren't you that lazy Ashikabi that...

Rather than let her finish, Minato sighed and shook his head, taking up the chopsticks that Miya packed with his lunch. "I'm not lazy, I'm just not interested in picking fights. I also think it's fairly bad form to insult the guy that you're trying to keep a truce with." He picked up a piece of the chicken with the chopsticks and tossed it into his mouth, chewing it only a few times before swallowing it whole and giving Hibiki a cool stare. "So how about we dial back the hostility a little bit and just relax?"

Hibiki's frown became a scowl, but she took a step or two back from Minato while Seo pulled himself off of the fence, rubbing a lump that grew out of his hair. He then walked back over to the pipe and stood in front of Hikari with a chagrined frown on his face. "Jesus, Hikari. Try to kill me in private next time. This is a work area, people could get hurt when you mess around like that." He turned to Hibiki next, wincing slightly. "And what's this I hear about a lazy Ashikabi?"

"That'd be me, according to Ms. S&M number 2," Minato said as he jerked a thumb in Hibiki's direction. She stared at him with annoyance burning in her eyes, and Minato shrugged. "You started it, you know. I don't like being called names any more than anyone else."

Seo laughed and wrapped an arm around Hikari's waist, pulling her close. Hikari felt something squeezing at her bottom, and her face began to practically glow red. "Ah, I see. This is the guy that ran off with that 'bimbo Sekirei' you were chasing after, Hikari? I told you one of these days you'd wind up chasing a Sekirei right into her Ashikabi's loving arms." He began to squeeze Hikari's bottom more vigorously, and Hikari's response was to spark up and shock him briefly, causing him to flinch away from her with a disgruntled grimace on his face. "What was that for?" he whined.

Hikari sniffed and frowned. "You were molesting me in public, you perverted jackass!"

Minato finished the food in his mouth and cleared his throat, causing Seo and the two Sekirei to look at him. "So, you're the Ashikabi of both of these girls?"

"That I am," Seo said, taking a shrink-wrapped piece of curry bread from Hikari's bag before he sat back down next to Minato. "Hikari and Hibiki were telling me about an Ashikabi that stopped them from getting rid of a Sekirei, and then told them that he didn't want to fight when they found him later on. Never figured it would've been someone like you with a big enough pair to stand up to them." He broke the bread packaging, wedged the loaf between his teeth, and pulled a huge chunk out, chewing on it as he kept talking. "Still, you're a pretty nice guy. So how about we agree to just stay cool with each other? I don't see a reason for us to fight right now."

Minato regarded Seo with a skeptical frown as he finished up the chicken and vegetables in his lunch set. _Friendly or not, he's still an Ashikabi. He's still a threat._ _And that's not mentioning the fact that Hibiki, Hikari, and I have already run into problems before. What if they decide that Seo is better off without someone like me being neutral to him and try to get rid of Musubi-san or Akitsu-san when our guard is lowered? _Before he could begin to form a response, a loud, wobbling sound overhead caused all four of them to look up to the sky. Black choppers with the words "MBI" written on the sides in block lettering were flying above, headed for what appeared to be the center of the city—or more specifically, what appeared to be a giant, thick grove of trees growing near the center of the city.

"MBI choppers?" Minato asked aloud, frowning. "Where are they going so quickly?"

Seo's friendly grin gained a wry edge as it widened slightly, appearing more like an animal baring its fangs. "Someone hasn't been watching the news," he said, mumbling around another mouthful of bread. "Didn't you hear about the botanical garden overgrowing pretty much overnight? About MBI promising to move in and clear the joint out?"

For some reason, flashes of the forest from the dream he'd had that morning began to run through Minato's head, but he cleared them away with a grunt and a frown. He had to keep his focus on what Seo was saying...

A sudden beeping from Seo's pocket cut the conversation short, as the man reached into it and grabbed his phone, flipping it open to see what the ruckus was. "A text message?" He went quiet for a few moments, reading it with an intently furrowed brow, while Minato simply watched, unsure as to what was going on. Eventually, Seo closed the phone with a brisk flick of his wrist and shoved it back into his pocket, then stood up, looking in the direction of the MBI choppers. "Well, this just got interesting," he said, rolling his shoulders a few times. "Seems like the Ashikabi just got an open invitation to go investigate the garden from Minaka. A Sekirei called the Green Girl is cooped up in there all ripe for the picking."

An image of the girl from Minato's dream practically popped into his head at that point. Minato frowned, brushing the unrelated memory off, and moved his lunch from his lap before checking his pants pockets for his phone. If what Seo had just said was true, then why hadn't his phone rung too? When his search turned up nothing, he realized exactly why he hadn't gotten a message—his phone was back at Izumo Inn, sitting on the table where he'd left it after Miya had basically harangued him into unending shame. Unaware of this, Seo turned to Minato and put on another wry grin. "Say, Sahashi. How about we go and check things out ourselves?"

"We've still got work to do," Minato said, putting aside his irritation at not having his phone to see this message for himself. "I don't know about you, but I've still got rent to pay. I don't have the liberty of skipping out on a job for this stupid game."

Seo shook his head and jerked his thumb towards a man approaching them both, slightly overweight and wearing a yellow hard-hat. Minato recognized the man as the foreman for the site, and blinked, wondering what he wanted. "Kaoru and Sahashi, right?" the foreman said once he got within speaking distance of the two. "We're done for today. MBI's put out an evacuation order in a 500-meter radius around the botanical garden while they start cleaning the place up. You'll both get paid for a regular workday since we weren't planning on cutting things short. Be here on time tomorrow."

Minato and Seo both nodded, though it was only Minato that responded, "Yes, sir." Once the foreman walked away, Seo's attention turned back toward Minato. "Well, what do you say? You gonna come with me and the girls or not?"

Again, the image of the girl from the dream, jumping down from the tree in that overgrown grove, appeared in Minato's mind, and he frowned. The implications of the message sent to Seo and the "overgrowth" of the botanical garden struck him in tandem with the memories. _That girl...Kusano. In the dream, she was by herself, and she mentioned Sekirei and an Ashikabi coming for her when she was talking about..._ He hesitated, biting his lip, but forced himself to finish the thought. _...about "Takami-nee-chan" being hurt. _If he had his phone, he could call his mother to confirm if she was injured or not, and that would have settled the matter, but without it, he could only borrow Seo's cell or call from a pay phone. His mother wasn't in the habit of answering the phone for numbers she didn't recognize, either, so that wouldn't work either.

_Nothing changes the fact that Kusano asked me for my help in that dream, and the location was pretty overgrown. _He folded his arms and scowled. _I could be thinking too much about it, but if she's the Green Girl, then I'm the one that she wants to rescue her. No one else. And if that's the case, I can't just abandon her._

"I'll come with you, Kaoru-san," Minato said, freeing his arms to grab and close his lunchbox. "Let me just get my bag and we'll go as soon as we can."

Seo grinned and rubbed the heads of his two Sekirei affectionately. "It's Seo, kid. Kaoru-san is my old man." He then looked between Hibiki and Hikari, his grin growing wider. "Biki-chan, Kari-chan. Are you guys on break right now?"

"Actually, we're done for today," Hikari said. "Business was slow, so the manager let us off early."

"Then let's go," Seo roared. "Time to raise some hell!"

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**3:20 PM**

While Seo and Minato got ready to set out for the garden, Musubi and Miya were engaged in some exercise of their own. Though Musubi hadn't been allowed breakfast, she was more than energetic enough to trade blows with Miya for the majority of the day; she had to acclimate herself to Miya's speed and techniques over time, and very carefully, since the landlady was about as light on her feet as Minato was and easily as fast, if not faster, than him.

As she let off another straight punch, Musubi realized, albeit too late, that she'd stepped too far into it, and Miya "corrected" Musubi by jabbing the pommel of her cane sword into Musubi's ribs. With a yelp, Musubi tumbled to the side, but managed to break her fall with one arm, and rolled into a crouch, digging her fingers into the dirt to steady herself.

"I could see it in your eyes," Miya said, watching as Musubi got back up. "You recognized it, didn't you? You over-extended yourself."

"Yes, Landlady-sama," Musubi replied, rubbing the sore spot with a grimace. "Minato-sama taught me about how to avoid doing that before. I forgot, though."

Miya shook her head. "What's important is that you were aware of the mistake. As long as you don't make it again, you should be fine."

Musubi immediately nodded, smiling brightly. Miya returned the expression with a gentle smile of her own, then turned her to Akitsu, who silently stepped down from the porch and into the yard. "Akitsu-san. Is something the matter?" In response, Akitsu walked over to Musubi and held out a hand, revealing a cellphone nestled in her palm that Musubi recognized immediately.

"Ah! That's Minato-sama's phone!" Musubi said, putting her hands to her mouth. "Akitsu-san, where did you find that?"

Akitsu withdrew her hand and let it rest at her side. "Minato-sama's bedroom. I heard it buzzing. He got a message about a Sekirei in the botanical garden." She looked upward briefly, as if contemplating something, and nodded. "I am going to find him and give him the phone. If he wishes to pursue the Sekirei, I will help him. Will you come?"

Musubi clenched her fists, smiling with furrowed brows. "Of course I will, Akitsu-san! There's no way I would let you go and find Minato-sama by yourself! Especially not if he needs our help!"

"Well, if it's to help him, then I suppose that I can overlook the fact that you didn't ask for my permission to leave training early," Miya replied, her voice pleasant but dry. Musubi rubbed the back of her neck while looking down at the ground, and a noticeable blush was clearly on her face. "Nevertheless, before you two go, I want to give you a little blessing." She placed a gentle hand on both of their foreheads, and whispered, "May you be protected, and find victory and success today." Once she released them, the two girls nodded at her appreciatively and went inside, going straight for the front door; Miya followed behind them and stood in the doorway as they broke into runs and leaped onto the rooftops. She watched their figures grow ever smaller as they went towards the brush-covered horizon, and then said, without turning around, "Are you headed out as well, Kagari-san—no, I should say, Homura-san?"

From the first tier of the roof above her, Kagari—or rather, Homura—was standing and looking in Musubi and Akitsu's direction. The black coat he was wearing fluttered in the breeze as he pulled up the matching mask to cover the lower half of his face. "I'm the guardian of the Sekirei. It's my duty. And aside from that, I got a very convincing request to go."

"I wonder how much longer that Takami intends to rely on me and my residents to assist her," Miya replied. "You seem to get many 'convincing requests' from her, and it concerns me that she always turns to you."

Homura's face was impassive even under his mask as he shook his head, acknowledging and ignoring the hint of steel in Miya's voice. "If it helps me fulfill my promise to guard all of the Sekirei, I could care less. Besides that, she's still in recovery at the moment, so she can't handle it herself. At the very least, this proves she's on my said—or, failing that, it means that we share an enemy that we can unite against instead of fighting each other."

Miya continued to look forward, and allowed herself a slight frown. "Just be careful. Matsu's told me about your health, you know. So don't overdo it. Her medicine won't be enough forever." A fluttering of cloth answered her, and she didn't bother to look at Homura passing overhead as he leaped onto the gate, then to the nearest roof; instead, she sighed and pressed a hand to her cheek.

"That child will need to learn how to slow down one of these days."

* * *

**3:40 PM**

**Shintou Teitou, Arboretum Entrance**

As Minato, Seo, Hikari, and Hibiki approached the entrance to the arboretum, the lightning twins, dressed in the costumes that Minato had first met them in, knitted their fingers together and began to survey the tanks blocking the entrance into the overgrown area. Seo simply nodded and smirked, and Minato felt a chill run down his spine. "Ready to go, aren't you, girls?" the scruffy Ashikabi said, laughing. "Well, try not to make too much of a mess. These slobs are only doing their jobs."

"Are you seriously going to just let those two blast them out of the way?" Minato asked, his voice barely above a hiss as he stared at Seo's back. "There is such a thing as overkill, Kaoru-san."

"Seo, kid, Seo. Not gonna tell you again," Seo replied, barely looking over his shoulder at Minato before turning his attention back to the soldiers. They were fully outfitted in black armor marked with "MBI" on the chest and shoulder plates, and even carried assault rifles. Despite the fact that they were milling about rather casually, Seo knew from experience with MBI that they would be at least competent enough to subdue a civilian by any means necessary. "Besides that, do you see the heat they're packin'? If we don't scare 'em off they'll put a bullet in each of us before we can blink. Trust me, we got this."

Hikari and Hibiki nodded in unison, wordlessly agreeing with their Ashikabi, then thrust their free hands at the same tank. Bolts of lightning streaked down their respective arms and blasted outward; the moment the bolt struck true, the tank exploded, knocking the nearby soldiers to the ground, and causing the others to raise their guns. The lightning twins immediately took aim at another tank, and as it flipped end-over-end in another huge explosion, Seo cackled in delight, causing Minato to edge away. "He's a maniac," Minato mumbled to himself. "An absolute maniac."

The diversion worked, regardless; by the time the girls were done blasting tanks, the MBI soldiers had scattered quite thoroughly, and not a single one was left behind to block them. Still laughing, Seo swaggered forward, ignoring the burning pyres of the tank wreckage. Hikari and Hibiki followed behind him, and Minato, behind them. However, right as they crossed from the concrete to the spongy grass underfoot, Musubi's voice cried out, "Minato-sama!"

Minato turned around just in time to see Musubi and Akitsu alight on the ground just behind him; before he could say anything, Akitsu walked up to him and opened his palm, placing something directly in it. When he looked down to see what it was, he saw that he was holding his cellphone, and he blinked, then smiled in relief. "Akitsu-san, you're a lifesaver."

Akitsu shook her head and looked down, hiding a slight blush. "I did not want to wait for you to return."

"And we were worried about you, Minato-sama," Musubi said, twiddling her fingers as she stood next to Akitsu. "You got a text message about a Sekirei called 'the Green Girl'. I didn't think you would go after her since you didn't know, but I thought it would be good to tell you." Here, she looked at Hikari and Hibiki, and smiled, raising a hand in greeting; Hikari scoffed and turned away, while Hibiki nodded slightly. "I guess you found out anyway."

"Hate to break up the chatter, but we don't have time for this," Seo said, clapping his hands together. "We cleared this entrance, so we could have a bunch of Ashikabi following behind us to get that Green Girl any minute now. You ladies are Minato's Sekirei, yeah? If you're coming with us, fall in behind him and let's go."

Musubi and Akitsu did as they were asked, but not before Akitsu shot Seo a hard glare that he clearly saw and immediately turned away to avoid; clearly, she didn't appreciate the fact that he was bossing her around. Minato watched the byplay with a slight amount of confusion, but put it to the side as he and his Sekirei stepped into the lush, green labyrinth in front of them.

* * *

**3:55 PM**

**Shintou Teitou, Arboretum Interior**

The evening light was almost completely eclipsed the moment that they stepped into the forest, leaving only a dim light for the Sekirei and their Ashikabi to see by. Despite that, they continued to move with all due haste, fearing that if another Sekirei-Ashikabi team had infiltrated before them, or chosen to follow after their trail, the Green Girl would be lost to them forever. More than once, Minato caught his foot on a root and fell face-first into the warm earth, and every time, Musubi or Akitsu pulled him up like a turnip, brushed him off while holding him up with one hand, and put him down. Throughout the entire trip through the overgrown arboretum, Minato kept looking for a wall of grass like the one in his dream (which was part of the reason why he kept eating dirt pies), but he had yet to see it.

Eventually, their clumsy stumbling through the woods led them to a clearing where the canopy was thinner than the rest of the forest. It was fairly large in size, but all that got Minato's attention was the thick wall of grass on the other side of it; not only did it look familiar, but as he'd emerged out of the brush, Minato could have sworn that he saw Kusano's wild mop of brown-blonde hair and small figure standing in front of it before she seemed to vanish. Immediately, Minato circled around Hikari, Hibiki, and Seo, running straight for it.

"Whoa, kid, what got into you?" Seo said, rushing to catch up.

"I saw her!" Minato replied, not bothering to turn back. "She's this way, I know it!"

The top branch of one of the trees in front of Minato shook suddenly, and the four Sekirei, lagging slightly behind their respective Ashikabi, tensed up suddenly. However, Akitsu was the first to respond; she flung a hand out toward the branch, and thin, sharp icicles formed behind her before shooting up and into the canopy. A female shriek came from the spot that Akitsu's attack hit, and Minato slid to a stop and staggered back in surprise as a girl fell right out of the tree, landing in front of him. She was a long-haired brunette, wearing a white dress with short sleeves and puffy shoulders, and she had a rather sharp looking scythe, with a black shaft, in her right hand. However, her left shoulder was clearly punctured by one of the icicles that Akitsu used to knock her out of the tree, while the rest of them had torn her dress, arms, and legs up.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she snapped, slowly rising to her feet with the scythe acting as a temporary crutch. "You impertinent..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at Akitsu's forehead and saw the Sekirei crest. "A scrapped number? What the hell are you doing here?!"

Akitsu's eyes narrowed, and a wave of misty fog rolled off of her body; where it settled on the ground, a light frost dusted the grass. Minato could feel the temperature drop even from where he stood, at least four feet in front of her. "Minato-sama. Take Musubi and go ahead. I will deal with this."

Minato took one look back at 'his' Sekirei to argue against it, but promptly shut his mouth when he saw that Akitsu's expression was eerily similar to what it had been when Musubi asked her about her number. The primary difference was that the pain and self-consciousness in her eyes was masked by—or might have been amplifying—the stiffness and hostility in her stance. "All right then," he said instead. "Musubi, come on. Let's go."

Musubi nodded once and immediately followed Minato over to the wall of grass; when she saw him punch a fist into it and start pulling open a hole, she mimicked him and pulled the resultant hole open with both hands as easily as pushing back a shower curtain. She then stepped aside to let Minato, Seo, and the twins pass through before stepping through herself, but took an extra moment to turn back, holding up a clenched fist as she called to Akitsu. "Akitsu-san! You'll win! Definitely!"

Akitsu simply nodded, but refused to take her eyes off of the Sekirei with the scythe, who was still looking fairly energetic despite the icicle embedded in her shoulder. As Musubi rushed to catch up with Minato and the others, the grass slowly moved back into place, and Akitsu's opponent turned so that the head of the scythe was pointed behind her, finally gripping it with both hands. "I am number forty-three, Yomi," she said, clenching her gloved fists around the shaft. "I'll send you back to the heap you crawled out of, scrap! And then I'll go for that idiot-looking 'Ashikabi' of yours!"

The very moment that Yomi spat out her threat to Minato's life, the corners of Akitsu's mouth twitched downward, and her right hand clenched into a fist as the grass at her feet was suddenly weighed down by ice. Without a word, more shards of frozen water formed at Akitsu's back and rained down on Yomi as if she were in the middle of a hailstorm; Yomi didn't even bat an eye as she leaped forward, twirling her scythe between her two hands as she advanced. The icicles broke and shattered as they collided with her weapon, and once they were all gone, she stopped spinning the scythe, grabbed it with both hands, and swung it down viciously, intending to bisect Akitsu with a clean vertical cut.

Akitsu quickly rolled to the side, but rather than continue to attack, she darted forward. The abruptness of the motion, and its speed, caused Yomi to stumble back in surprise instead of attacking again, and Akitsu took the opportunity to slam her palm hard into Yomi's stomach, causing Yomi to choke on the air pushed out of her lungs.

"The bitterness of my frost shall freeze and shatter the trials facing my Ashikabi," Akitsu whispered, murmuring the words despite the fact that she could not use them for their intended purpose. "Be gone."

A sharp, stabbing cold bloomed in the pit of Yomi's belly, followed by a strange feeling of warmth. She looked down, and saw that an icicle had bloomed from Akitsu's hand, and that blood—her blood—was trickling down its sharp ridges. Akitsu then pulled back, letting the icicle detach from her palm, and Yomi collapsed like a house of cards, her eyes staring blankly into space.

"Mikogami-sama..." Yomi whispered, blood trailing from the corner of her mouth.

Though Akitsu couldn't see it, she knew that the Sekirei crest on the nape of Yomi's neck was fading away just as her consciousness was. Ignoring Yomi's last words, Akitsu stepped over the girl's prone body and put her hand on the grass wall where Minato had gone through with the others. The grass froze at her touch, and with a casually delivered punch, she shattered a hole wide enough for her to walk through.

* * *

**4 PM**

While Akitsu held Yomi back, the rest of the group had gone through another dark area of the arboretum. This time, though, Minato was taking point, and he kept seeing a ghostly Kusano dancing along the path, leading him through the darkness. Seo didn't say a word, but the expression on his face as they broke another wall of grass and came to a clearing with a tall tree was clearly thoughtful.

Minato wasted no time crossing to the tree and standing at its base, staring up into its highest branches with a frown of concentration on his face. Musubi joined him and began to look as well, her eyes wide and owlish.

"Kuu-chan!" Minato yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Kuu-chan! Are you up there?"

There was no response at first, and then, the tree rustled a few times. Before Minato knew it, a brown-blonde-white blur dropped down from the tallest branch, and he had just enough time to raise his hands up toward it before the weight of the falling object knocked him off his feet. "Bluh!"

As loose blades of grass fluttered up around him, he realized that something warm had fallen into his arms. When he looked down, he saw Kusano's mop of hair, and felt her tiny hands pulling his shirt into a tight grip between their fingers. "You really came, onii-chan," she said, muffled by his chest. "And you caught me again."

Despite the moderate pain shooting through his arms at having to catch her so suddenly, Minato managed to smile and pat Kusano on the back, noticing for the first time that one of her sideburns had a piece of cloth wrapped around it. "Whenever you need me to, Kuu-chan, I'll catch you. Anytime, anywhere."

The small girl pulled her face up and smiled at Minato, with tears watering in her eyes. "Takami-nee-chan was right. I did find a nice onii-chan to take care of me." She inched closer to Minato's face, pursing her lips, but stopped midway, and fell back onto his chest, snoring gently.

"She was about to make me wing her, wasn't she," Minato said to himself, rubbing his forehead with a tired sigh. Kusano's words of _Takami-nee-chan _hadn't escaped his notice, validating the dream even more than anything else she'd said, but right now that was the furthest thing from his mind. "I really shouldn't have expected anything less, but still...what was Minaka thinking? She's only a child."

"Minaka wasn't thinking," Seo said suddenly,. "When it comes to having his fun, he doesn't bother wasting the energy, unless it'll make things even more 'entertaining'." The man's normally easygoing cheer was gone, and he spoke with pure distaste; he stood up as if his spinal cord had been replaced with a steel bar and his arms were folded tight across his chest. "He's a bastard, through and through. He's just good at hiding it when it suits him to."

Minato finally got to his feet, cradling Kusano close to his chest. "I figured that much out at least just from talking to him, Seo-san. Don't remind me of it." He shook his head and looked upward. "Anyway, we've got Kuu-chan, so let's get out of here. I know Akitsu-san can handle herself, but I'm not eager to run into any more Sekirei today. Plus, Kuu-chan needs to get some real food and a hot shower. Who knows how long she's been here?"

Seo cast an inquisitive eye onto Minato, rubbing the scruff on his chin with his thumb, then chuckled and nodded, relaxing from his stiff pose. "You were making a mighty big assumption for a moment, kid," he said, and Minato turned to give him a puzzled glance. "You know, I had my own reasons for bringin' you along. Lucky for you that you turned out to be exactly the kind of Ashikabi that I can trust. Otherwise you wouldn't be taking little Kuu there back to Izumo."

Though he was able to keep his hands from accidentally gripping Kusano tighter, Minato couldn't help but glare suspiciously at Seo once he made that remark. "What do you mean, 'the kind of Ashikabi you can trust'?"

Seo laughed heartily and hugged Hibiki and Hikari to his side. "Exactly what it sounds like, kid. I can trust you to leave me and my fine girls here alone unless we do something to piss you off, and you're not the kind of bastard that would wing a tired little girl, or let a tired little girl wing you. Hell, if every Ashikabi were like you..." He shook his head, smiling still. "Enough of that though. You definitely got the right idea when you said we gotta roll out. Let's find your little snow-cone machine and scram."

As soon as those words left Seo's lips, a small icicle flew out of the shadows and stuck itself in his skull. He kept smiling for a few moments, then sagged and fell over as a thin trail of blood burst from his forehead. Minato turned to see Akitsu standing with her hands in front of her and staring straight at him. "I have returned, Minato-sama," she said, bowing shortly. "Number forty-three, Yomi, has been defeated."

"Oi, scrap! What do you think you're doing beating up on our Ashikabi like that?" Hikari snapped, clenching her fist. "Do you really want to mess with us?"

"Well he did call her a snow-cone machine. She has feelings too," Hibiki said. "Also, sis, she's floating an icicle behind your head, so you might want to let it go."

Hikari turned her head slightly to see what Hibiki was talking about, and sure enough, a very long icicle was being pointed right between her eyes. Immediately, Hikari clapped her mouth shut and decided to occupy her time with picking Seo up off the ground.

Musubi strode straight to Akitsu with a frown and folded arms. "Akitsu-san!" she said. "You were supposed to stay with her! You know the rules, don't you?"

"I am a scrapped number," Akitsu responded, glancing at Musubi from the side. Immediately, Musubi saw the increasingly-familiar flash of emotion pass through Akitsu's otherwise dull eyes. "I am not part of this game. I have no obligation to announce my name or my number to my opponent, nor to stay with them once they have lost."

"Then do it because it's the right thing to do, and not because of any rules," Musubi said, putting one fist on her hip and wagging the pointer finger of her other hand. "It's really important that you treat other people the way you would want them to treat you. Did you think Minato-sama would be happy to know that you just abandoned someone like that?"

Akitsu flinched at that, and immediately looked away from Musubi, either unwilling or unable to answer. Minato would have put a hand on each of their shoulders to get them to concentrate, but with an armful of Kusano occupying him, he simply cleared his throat. "Musubi-san, Akitsu-san. We need to get back to Izumo quickly. We can continue this discussion later."

Both girls turned their attention to him and nodded in sync. "Yes, Minato-sama."

* * *

**4:20 PM**

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

The kitchen of the Izumo Inn was completely silent aside from the sound of running water and the _thunk-thunk_ of Miya's knife hitting the cutting board as she split and prepared the meat for the night's meal. Uzume had returned from her personal errands for the day and was sleeping upstairs, while Homura had called the house phone from his cell phone about ten minutes ago to let Miya know that he was due in at around 4:20 PM. As she threw the meat into a wooden bowl in the sink, leaving it to land on top of onions and other seasonings that she'd cut up before starting to clean and chop the meat, Miya heard the slight thumping sound of someone landing above her, but didn't stop what she was doing, sweeping the unused bits of flesh into a nearby garbage bag. After a minute or two, right as she finished cleaning up the remnants of the chicken she wasn't going to use, soft footsteps padded through the hallway until someone was standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Well, how did it go, Homura-san?" Miya asked, washing off her hands for a moment before returning her attention to the meat; it had to be sliced before it could be seasoned.

Homura, dressed in "Kagari's" favorite pair of dark slacks and white dress shirt, sighed and leaned against the frame of the door with his arms crossed. Though Miya couldn't see it, his silver-white hair was more matted down than usual, shining slightly as if it was wet and just starting to dry out. "Pretty good, all things considered. I saw Sahashi walk out of the arboretum with the Green Girl. I don't think he winged her, she was fast asleep and cuddled up to him like he was a man-sized teddy bear. "

"He carried a full-grown woman out of the Arboretum?" Miya asked, shaking her head. "My, my. Doesn't that young man know how to be inconspicuous?"

"The Green Girl is a child, Miya," Homura responded flatly. "Number 108, Kusano. Has the ability to control the growth of vegetation of any kind within a specific radius. And, according to what Takami told me, without further tuning, or intervention from number 107, she won't be able to regulate her own abilities."

Miya's eyes narrowed slightly as she processed the words, taking that moment to slice a particularly troublesome part of the chicken's breast. Bad enough that Minaka was treating the Sekirei as toys for his game, but the fact that he chose to do such a thing to a child, of all Sekirei, really made her reconsider staying neutral at times like this. If he kept up his extra-deplorable behavior, she'd probably just bury her sword hilt-deep into his forehead and leave his corpse in Takami's office as a peace offering. "Then shouldn't MBI take her back and finish adjusting her?" she said at last. "If she shouldn't have been released, someone like Minaka should have gotten rather annoyed that she was out before his little game anticipated her release."

"Takami said that Minaka won't accept Kusano back in now that he offered her up as a prize. She'll have to be winged with her power still unchecked." He chuckled, but it was drier than a desert. "At risk of sounding rather cruel, I would draw comparisons to 'damaged goods', at least in terms of how Minaka sees her now. Either that, or as property that has been released into Sahashi's custody."

At that remark, Miya's hands inadvertently tightened around whatever was closest. In the case of her right hand, that was the large knife she had been using. In the case of her left, that was the front side of the granite counter that the sink was built into—and her grip was so tight, that audible pops from her knuckles, and cracking sounds from the things she was holding on to, began to split the tense air between her and Homura.

"Miya, you should probably relax a bit," Homura said, feigning nonchalance as Miya's dark aura began to sink into the air like a lead weight falling to the ocean floor. "You're going to break the knife and the counter-top that way."

The words seemed to reach the landlady through her building aggravation, and she suddenly took a deep breath in through her nostrils, letting her belly swell out. Slowly, deliberately, she released it from her mouth, feeling her muscles relax and her aura dissipate. It had been a while since she had gone on what she would call "a rampage", but her body instinctively remembered certain stimuli that triggered her less restrained instincts. Stress had not been one of them, but anger most definitely was, and Minaka was doing a fine job of...annoying her today. She put the knife in the sink, turned to Homura, and noticed his damp hair as soon as she laid eyes on him. "Your hair seems a bit different, Homura-kun. What did you do to it?"

Homura reached a hand to the back of his head and scratched a couple of times, closing his eyes as he sighed. "Well..."

* * *

_As he watched Minato and the others take Kusano toward Izumo Inn from a nearby rooftop, Homura smiled under his mask and turned to leave, but paused. Something in the air had just shifted, and he could almost sense what had caused it. Instinct kicked in at the last second, and he immediately dove to the side as a torrent of water came down from above, splashing the spot where he'd been standing and watching the Arboretum moments before._

"_So you dodged it," a woman's voice said, speaking with a refined, regal air. Her Japanese was somewhat archaic in certain structures, but not enough for him to misunderstand her. "It was remiss of me to think that my rival would let himself be overtaken so easily. More the fool I, I suppose."_

_Homura simply sighed, straightening his coat before turning away from the voice. "As usual, Tsukiumi, you just charge right in," he said. "I'd like to think that you would have bothered to develop a new strategy for ambushing me by now."_

_Tsukiumi snorted in derision, and Homura finally decided to at least play along and turned his body halfway towards her to look at her out of the corner of his eyes. Tsukiumi was dressed as usual, in a long black dress with large, baggy shoulders and white interior lining. A matching black choker with ruffled white lace adorned her neck, and beneath her first dress she wore a white one. Its skirt was much shorter than her outer, ending less than a quarter of the way down her thighs, and was cut low, covering her bust and moving down from there. Ruffled white sleeves poked out of the larger black ones that covered her arms. Brown straps were wrapped on her thighs, just above her kneecaps, and she wore a pair of brown boots with black, thigh-high stockings. Her long, blonde hair (cascading down to just above her kneecaps at the least) and her cold blue eyes gleamed in the setting sunlight. Along with her folded arms, her overall posture displayed the same imperiousness that her style of speaking did. "If you have time to waste on witty reprisals, then a duel with me shall bother you none." A small circle of water suddenly sprang to life around her, circling her briskly. "Come, let us settle our account!"_

"_I'm not in the mood for this, Tsukiumi, and I don't have the time," Homura said, letting his frown stretch across his face beneath his mask. "I need to leave. There's an Ashikabi that I'm observing, and you're getting in my way."_

_Tsukiumi's eyes narrowed the moment Homura said the word Ashikabi, and the water circle expanded, growing in height by a few inches and spinning even faster. "If that is so, then force me from your path!" she ordered. "Have you not the strength to do so?"_

_Homura grunted, then lit a flame in his left palm and waved his arm in Tsukiumi's direction, as if throwing a fastball; the fire molded itself into a long, whip-like shape as it lashed out at Tsukiumi. Tsukiumi's response was to raise her right hand and point directly at Homura. Immediately, the ring of water coalesced into a torrent and shot forward, circling around the fire to strike Homura's head and upper body. However, the flame was not extinguished, and Tsukiumi was forced to side-step it before it burned her. Growling, she sent another cascade of water at Homura, who was still reeling from the last mouthful of it that he'd had to deal with. This time, though, Homura didn't aim his attack at her, but at the water. He clapped his hands together, setting them afire, and then thrust them forward, palms out. A short, large burst of fire slammed into Tsukiumi's attack, and steam flooded the rooftop. Tsukiumi squawked as the cloud obscured her vision; the heat was bearable, no worse than a weak sauna, but her vision was severely obscured. "Blast it!" she shouted, whirling to the left and the right as she looked for Homura's shadowed profile in the fog. "Homura, are you so base that you would impair my vision to claim victory? You are disappointing me, my rival!"_

"_I already told you that I've got better things to do," Homura's voice replied from behind her, and Tsukiumi cursed as a warm flame began to lick at her back. She would not say it, but in her mind, she knew she was beaten this time. Homura would release that flame the moment he thought she was going to run off or counterattack, and he was close enough to do it before her water could shut him down. "I do have to commend you, you've gotten stronger. But it's like I told you. If you want to reach your maximum potential, you'll need an Ashikabi." _

"_I have no need for such a base thing!" Tsukiumi yelled, fists clenching and veins popping as water flared around her feet again. "Useless, perverted tools such as Ashikabi...my power is complete without them, as is your own!" Her fair skin flushed as she continued. "What reason have I to allow one of them to violate my...my purity, the sanctity of my maidenly body, in exchange for 'strength', when I, like you, have already reached the nadir of my power?!"_

_Homura groaned, rubbing his face with the hand that wasn't holding a fireball to Tsukiumi's back. If he were in a more patient mood, he would tell her that she was wrong about him on at least one count, but she wouldn't listen if he did. "How many times do I have to tell you that winging doesn't have anything to do with sex? And haven't you at least bothered to look at a Sekirei with a good Ashikabi before? They're not that hard to come across, even if you tend to notice the asshole ones more."_

_Tsukiumi sniffed in annoyance, but did not move. "They are few and far between, Homura," she said, lowering her voice somewhat and forcing the swirl of water to recede as the steam began to cool and clear. "Do you think me so foolish as to continue to resist this 'winging' without cause?" She bent her head slightly, and spoke in a low, bitter tone. "I have seen no Ashikabi that treats their Sekirei well. No Ashikabi that seems to treat their Sekirei as a flesh-and-blood person. And were I to see, seek out, or even find such a one, that means nothing of its own accord. I would not wing myself to that Ashikabi ere my body reacted, nor would I do so if my body refused to react at all." She crossed her arms once again, and her eyebrows drew closer together as her hands gripped her upper arms even tighter. "I will not force myself into a loveless union for the sake of strength I possess already. If it must be that I stand alone until the end of my days, then that is how it shall be. And if any comes to me claiming to be my Ashikabi, I shall kill them with my own hands."_

_As the last of the steam finally cleared, Homura shook his head and extinguished his fire as she turned around to face him, staring up into his face; though she didn't look it thanks to her boots and her attitude, Tsukiumi was somewhat petite. "I can understand what you're saying. You'd rather die than let yourself be winged by a terrible Ashikabi, and that's only fair. But there are two things wrong with what you've said. Earlier, you compared us in terms of being powerful Sekirei without Ashikabi—and while that may be true, I am looking for mine regardless, because I won't be able to survive on my own past a certain point, no matter how strong I am. The other problem is this: your dramatic gestures would look cooler if your panties weren't showing half of the time." With that, he turned and leaped to a nearby roof, heading straight for Izumo Inn. Tsukiumi glared at his back for a while, then looked down at herself._

_Then, her face turned beet-red._

"_Homura, you cad!" she shouted, her voice shriller and shriller by the second."To say such a thing as your departing words, much less let my clothing stay in such disarray...! How dare you! There will be a reckoning for this, I assure you!"_

_From the rooftop where he'd stopped, Homura sighed and put a palm to his face. Tsukiumi was screaming loud enough for her voice to carry to where he was standing several feet away. "Or you could just start wearing bloomers or something..."_

* * *

"Homura-kun, you really are something of a pervert, aren't you," Miya said as Homura finished the story. Her knife was resting in the sink, next to the bowl with the semi-seasoned meat that she'd been preparing, and her hands were in front of her, one over the other. "Though, this Tsukiumi...even if she's strong enough to give you a fair fight, I doubt that her strength alone will carry her far enough."

"I keep telling her that, but she's too damn stubborn," Homura muttered, reaching to his shirt pocket. A sealed package of cigarettes was bulging out of it, and with a few deft movements of his hands, the pack was open, a cigarette was shaken out, and a small flame from his finger was lighting up the white end. Even as he started to puff on the cigarette and shook his hand for a moment, the fire didn't go out; Miya gazed sharply at him, and even after the fire fizzled away, she noticed that his hand was still shaking as he scratched his chest for a brief second. "It's kind of immature to be honest, but..." He sighed, and closed his eyes, trying to will away the headache crawling up and down his temples. "I think I need to take a nap before I go out tonight. Excuse me, Miya."

With that, he pushed himself off of the frame, and ambled off towards the front door and the stairs. Miya watched him leave with a frown, and briefly let her thoughts wander back to Homura lighting up the cigarette, and the way his hand had been acting after he managed to get his finger to stop burning. "He's losing control," she said to herself, grabbing a bottle on the counter to sprinkle soy sauce on the meat. "I will need to speak with Matsu right away."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_I've been a bit busy, so I sort of didn't realize that I had a chapter due until I checked my calendar and the last date that I'd posted. This one's a bit late as a result, but I won't make the same mistake twice._

_I've hit a bit of a block, so Chapter 9 hasn't even been touched yet; if I can work it out, I intend to finish 7 and at least have 9 halfway done before the next update. Part of it is me revising my writing style a bit in response to feedback I got on a separate project; part of it is knowing what I want to do but not having the transitions 100% planned. Writing with too much of a plan can be as stifling as it is structured, so I usually leave the small details until I write the chapter in question. Which results in stalls when those details don't come together right away._

_I've said it before, but I love writing Tsukiumi's dialogue. I felt that it would fit her character better to use formal, "antiquated" language than messing around with fake Shakespearean English. I tried a similar trick in Substitute School, but carried it a bit too far there; maybe in the future I'll go back and re-visit how I did that. A rainy-day project, perhaps._

_Since there weren't any real questions in the Chapter 4 reviews, I'll just let things go for now. Next chapter will go up in a week and six days, on Friday August 3rd. Be there or be square._

_~ZS_


	6. The Genius Wagtail

_**~Petal 6: The Genius Wagtail ~**_

* * *

**Saturday, 4:50 PM**

**2020**

**Izumo Inn, Exterior**

Not more than thirty minutes after Homura's arrival at the inn, Minato, Musubi and Akitsu all approached the front gates with a still-dreaming Kusano, Seo, and the lightning twins in tow. To be honest, he'd tried dumping Hibiki, Hikari, and their Ashikabi off somewhere by stating that all their walking through the Arboretum had tired him out and that he just wanted to go home and relax, but damnable Seo completely ignored every single thing he said (whether deliberately or not) and insisted on "catching up" with Miya (judging by the drool that had been running down the side of his face at the time, Minato was pretty much positive that he just wanted to mooch some of Miya's dinner). Less than a foot from the gates proper, Minato stopped and turned to face Seo, who had his hands around the twins' waists with a boisterous smile.

"Seriously, Seo-san," he said, shifting Kusano's weight in his arms. The girl had grabbed his shirt even more tightly when she'd fallen asleep, so he'd been carrying her since they left the arboretum proper. "I understand that you just want to say hello, but I haven't been living here that long and I don't want to ruin my reputation with Asama-san by just bringing home people without giving warning. I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay for dinner."

Seo shook his head and laughed again, letting the twins go, and brushed past Minato to go through the open gate and straight to the front door. "I keep tellin' ya, kid. Takehito and I go way back. Ain't no way his wife's gonna kick me out because I showed up suddenly for dinner! I used to do it all the time! Plus I helped get this place into shape. She can't deny me anything I ask her for—within reason, anyway. So if I stop by and say I want food, she'll give it to me without a second word." He banged on the door with the bottom of his fist, and yelled, "Yo, Miya! It's Seo! Been a while, hasn't it? I can smell somethin' good in—"

The door opened, and a metal serving tray whistled through the air as it smacked Seo in the forehead, knocking him flat on the ground. Miya emerged from inside afterward; her mouth was fixed into the most pleasantly wide smile that would fit on her face, and her eyes were almost completely shut since the smile was pushing them closed.

In total contrast to that, a raging storm of dark clouds seemed to hang around her entire body.

Minato had never seen such a contradictory yet terrifying sight in his life.

"Welcome home, Sahashi-san, Akitsu-san, Musubi-san," she said, turning to each person as she addressed them; her smile relaxed a little bit, becoming authentic and calming, especially when she looked at Kusano nestled into Minato's chest. She then turned to Hikari and Hibiki, who each had raised a fist in her direction. Both girls immediately began to shake when Miya made eye contact with them; the pressure in the air was back on in full force at that time, either because they were Seo's Sekirei or because of how skimpy their battle outfits were, Minato couldn't tell for certain. "I see you brought a few interesting guests with you."

Seo immediately got up from the ground, ignoring the egg-shaped lump on his forehead, and grinned. "Hey, Miya! How're things going? You started dinner yet?"

Miya didn't even turn in his direction, facing Minato once more. "I must ask why you chose to bring this piece of useless scum with you, though," she said, and when she finally spared a glance at Seo, her smile stretched back to being fake. He flinched away and laughed nervously, but Miya's smile just grew wider as a shadow flickered over her face, and he shut up immediately. "I just cleaned the house today. I don't want his stink fouling it up."

"I didn't invite him," Minato said, gently rubbing the bottom of his black sneaker against the pavement. "He sort of just came along. I tried telling him it wasn't polite to just show up, but he didn't want to listen."

Miya sighed, but her aura persisted despite her gentle expression. In fact, Minato could have sworn that there was a demonic mask looming from the dark cloud hanging around her. Its glowing red eyes were focused on Seo, possibly staring right through to his soul. "He never does. Scum is terribly persistent."

"You picked up some of Takehito's crappiest traits, you know that?" Seo muttered, ignoring the cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Damn shame that a sexy widower like you has such an attitude even if you can cook nearly as good as he could." He immediately regretted his words, as another random projectile—a sizable rock, this time, easily the size of Seo's head—skipped off of his forehead and bowled him over, this time putting him out like a light. Miya then lowered her hand, and though her face had yet to even budge from that smile, Minato could feel the burning-hot annoyance simmering underneath it.

"The landlady is really, really scary," Musubi whispered, looking at Miya with awe and terror written across her wide-eyed stare. Beside her, Akitsu simply nodded, even if the expression on the ice Sekirei's face implied that she was doing little more than watching paint dry.

"Now, Sahashi-san, why don't you say goodbye to your friends and come inside," Miya said. The dark cloud around her vanished, and her expression returned to open eyes and a normal, small smile as she addressed her tenant. "That child you abducted looks like she needs a bath and a good meal."

Minato would have balked at the "abducted" comment, but he was in no mood to test if he could dodge Miya's magical throwing arm. Instead, he turned to Hibiki and Hikari with a shaky grin. "Thanks for helping me out today, you two. Thank Seo-san for me once he's awake, as well."

Hibiki shrugged and lifted up Seo, slinging him over one shoulder. "Whatever, lazybones," she replied over her shoulder as she walked off. "Guess we'll see you around."

Hikari, ever more polite, bowed to Minato and Miya, and said, her head still lowered, "I'm really sorry about his behavior at lunch, Sahashi. And miss, we didn't mean to cause any trouble here. He's really stubborn and doesn't like to listen..."

Miya shook her head gently. "I've known Seo for a while now. He was like that when Takehito was alive as well." She put a hand to her cheek and clicked her tongue. "If he hadn't been so rude, I would have fed him for Takehito's sake, but I'm afraid he exhausted my goodwill. However, I most certainly won't let his behavior affect what I think of you personally. If you find yourself in need of food, I don't mind if you stop by _occasionally_ to pick up some leftovers." The smile twitched outward for a bit before receding again. "You shouldn't bring him with you if you do, though. At least not for a few days. I think I'll be willing to tolerate him for a little bit after he spends some time away from here."

Hikari forced her bow to go down a few inches more, completely at the waist now. "Thank you so much, thank you, thank you!" She then straightened up and followed after her sister, leaving Minato and the others to watch them walk down the sidewalk.

"Really, Asama-san, I tried to get him to leave," Minato said, turning back to his landlady with a frown. "He did say that he was friends with your husband, but even so I didn't want to just bring home extra people for dinner..."

Miya gently tapped his forehead with her pointer finger, silencing him. "I said it was all right, Sahashi-san. Now, come on. The baths are ready, and I imagine that after all that work at the construction yard, you're tired and hungry. You can tell me where you got this little one from after you get clean and put some food in your stomach."

* * *

**6:30 PM**

Thanks to the sheer number of people that were cycling in and out of the bath, it took some time for the population of Izumo Inn to settle around the dinner table, but when they did, everyone was clean and refreshed. Minato, sitting on the right side of the table, had switched to a plain white shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants, while Akitsu, on his right side, had put on the pale blue sleeveless dress that she'd picked up as one of her casual outfits. A fully awake Kusano was snuggled into Minato's left side, easing up on occasion to eat some of the chicken that Miya had delicately prepared for the meal, while Musubi sat on Kusano's left, wearing a blue T-shirt with black sleeves and black shorts. Her plate was empty already, so she simply watched the others eat with a small, thoughtful smile. Homura hadn't come down from his room to join them, but Uzume had, dressed in her preferred clothing, and sat opposite Minato and Kusano.

"So, bro," Uzume said, swallowing a piece of chicken as she eyed Kusano curiously, "who's the squirt?"

Kusano's response was to stick her tongue out at Uzume. "I'm not a squirt, my name is Kusano."

"One of my mother's old friends went out of town for a while and dropped Kuu-chan off with me," Minato replied, absently ruffling Kusano's hair with one hand. He'd spent some time thinking of a cover story while he was in the bath; he couldn't just say "oh yeah, Kuu's a Sekirei" and let that be the end of it. "My mom sort of volunteered me to watch over her, so she'll be here a while."

"Then, for the time being, she can sleep in my room with me," Miya said from the head of the table, setting down her chopsticks with a gentle clack on her now empty-plate. "That way, we won't need to occupy another room that another tenant could use."

Kusano pouted. "I want to sleep in onii-chan's room," she said, folding her arms and puffing her cheeks out.

Miya simply smiled down at the little girl, and allowed a tiny hint of steel to creep into her voice. "My decision is final, Kuu-chan." Even without the dark aura, her words immediately silenced Kusano's protest, and the little Sekirei frowned cutely as she picked up her spoon, loaded it with more rice and chicken, and put it into her mouth, chewing with a furrowed brow. Musubi frowned secretly to herself, not noticing that Akitsu did the same, and both girls would have been surprised if they knew what the other was thinking: _is she going to try snuggling with him too?_

Uzume, Minato, and Miya noticed each girl's mood separately, but only Minato was particularly concerned. Things were going to get very crowded in his bed overnight (and even as he used that specific phrase in his head, he held back a cough as he realized what it sounded like); it would be bad enough that he'd probably go starving for breakfast again.

_Maybe once I grow thin and sick from missing my first meal of the day too many times, they'll stop sneaking into my room,_ he thought to himself, pressing a hand to his face and yawning. _Who knows..._

* * *

**Sunday, 7:00 AM**

**Izumo Inn**

True to his prediction, Minato awoke on Sunday morning with three separate bodies enclosing him. This time, though, Akitsu had taken his other arm as opposed to his leg, while Kusano was spread out on top of him, snoring into his chest; Musubi simply clutched his right arm as always. When he shifted to get up, both Akitsu and Kusano woke up, though only the former let go and got up. Kusano simply mumbled a bit, then pulled herself up closer to Minato's face in a groggy daze, her eyes gradually opening to fix on him. The little girl wasn't dressed in her usual white shift, but a cotton pajama set of long sleeved shirt and long pants; orange, trimmed with white, and styled after a simple Oriental outfit, with a high collar.

"We didn't get to do it in the tree park, onii-chan, but...Kuu-chan wants you to be her Ashikabi," she whispered. Before Minato could even protest, she pulled forward one last time and pressed her lips onto his, causing the wings of light that he'd seen during Musubi's winging to burst from her back. They were pale-green in color, and somewhat smaller, possibly due to her age, but Minato was almost positive now, half-awake as he was. He could feel a warmth coming from himself and from Kusano that was the same as what happened to him when he channeled his ki with breathing techniques. _Could it be that Sekirei already have to use ki as a part of their powers? If that's so...then Musubi, she..._

As Kusano pulled away from him and sat up, smiling cutely, Minato's brain let that particular train of thought derail, mostly because it was just now realizing that he'd basically become the life-mate of a relatively young child—in accordance with her will and somewhat against his (_wait, somewhat? No no __no no no, that can't be right at all_, he thought to himself, growing pale). He began to break out into a cold, shaking sweat, managing to keep his calm with only the greatest effort. The only thing that would be worse was for Miya to walk in, see all of his Sekirei, and then—

"Ah, here she is," the landlady's voice said suddenly, sounding terribly clear for some reason. Minato turned his head ever so slowly toward his now ajar door, saw Miya's smiling face peeking in, and felt every bit of willpower drain from his body as he let out a long, wailing moan.

"Now, now, Sahashi-san, there's no need for dramatics." Miya shook her head as she stepped inside. "Not even I am so foolish as to think that you would be able to get three people in this room, one of whom was sleeping in mine, without me realizing it. In light of the fact that you are not responsible for this, you are exempt from further punishments related to your Sekirei sleeping in your room from now on." In the next second, her long-necked ladle was in her hands, and she was smiling her favorite too-broad smile as she looked down on Akitsu (who was sitting with her legs folded under her and returning the gaze impassively), Kusano (who began to eye the ladle suspiciously), and Musubi (who was still fast asleep, smiling as a track of drool slid down her chin). "These three, however, are not."

As the sound of metal smacking flesh echoed through the room, another figure, a woman, peeked in, smiling and pushing up the glasses that slid down her nose, before chuckling and sneaking back down the hallway, toward the stairs. Only Kusano was in a position to see this stranger, but was too busy cowering from the "gentle" tap that Miya had given her with the ladle to notice.

At the end of the hallway, the spying woman, a redhead with two braids draped over her shoulders and a mass of unbound hair that streamed down her back, pushed on the left side of the wall, causing it to tilt inward and reveal a dark room illuminated by many computer monitors. Some were blank, while a good number of the ones that weren't had views of different rooms in the Inn—the bedrooms, the porch and yard, the dining rooms, the laundry rooms, the baths, and more. Once inside, she pushed the wall back into place, and sat down in front of a keyboard, causing her white dress to spill out all around her. Her chuckle echoed ominously in the sporadically lit darkness. "Ku hu hu hu. Minato-san seems prone to getting himself into a lot of trouble," she said aloud. "But still, I can't deny it now." She placed a hand on her heart, feeling its increased beat and the flushed warmth of the skin beneath her fingers. "I wasn't sure of it when I first saw him here in the inn, but this feeling is unmistakable. His strength of character, his manliness, his bravery...! He is most definitely my Ashikabi. And my rivals for his heart must be defeated before I move in and claim him!"

She put her hands on the keyboard and entered a series of rapid strokes, pulling up Minato's personal profile—the culmination of her weeks of research—on the primary monitor that she favored, a flat, 17-inch screen. The primary picture was a bust shot of Minato, dressed in his karate gi; it had been taken for a magazine that interviewed him for the Young Dragons' martial arts tournament two years ago, and even in the transition from seventeen to nineteen his face hadn't changed much, retaining the angular chin and jawbone that he'd inherited from his mother.

"Prepare yourself, Minato Sahashi!" she said, allowing a lecherous grin to spread across her face. "I, number 02 Matsu, have you in my sights."

* * *

**9:30 AM**

After a hasty breakfast, Minato had run off to his job, leaving Musubi, Akitsu, and Kusano with Miya and Uzume. With Minato absent, Musubi and Miya immediately went down to the yard and began to exercise, leaving Akitsu, Kusano, and Uzume to watch them from the porch. Miya was using her cane sword, albeit keeping it sheathed, to lash out with the sharp movements that characterized the Iaido style that she preferred to use with her live blade—she would swing out, striking with the part of her cane that resembled the tip of her sword, and return it to her side as soon as Musubi took the hit or ducked out of the way.

Akitsu could see clearly what influence Minato was having on Musubi's movements and attack patterns. Having been witness to her lessons, as well as to Minato and Yukari's fight, had given the ice Sekirei a rough idea of what direction Musubi would be growing in as she got more skilled at Rindoukan, and so far Musubi was adhering to that idea. Musubi was breathing evenly and constantly, and evaded every blow much like Minato had, shifting and ducking before attempting a counter punch that synchronized with the release of her breath. Miya would often push aside the counterattacks by nudging Musubi's outstretched arms with her cane, and would return fire by sidestepping, moving forward, and hitting Musubi's unprotected head, shoulders, or limbs. Both the upper body and lower body were out of the question, as Musubi's footwork and dodging, amateurish or no, was enough to keep both of those areas safe.

Kusano simply watched them go back and forth, flinching and shaking when a hit was landed or staring with sparkles in her eyes otherwise.

At length, the spar ended when Miya swung low, striking Musubi's leg; the Sekirei flinched and staggered, but managed to recover. However, it wasn't enough; Miya quickly shifted her cane back into resting position and struck at Musubi's head. Musubi immediately turned her palms inward and attempted to clap them on each side of the weapon, but her timing was off. Her hands smacked into each other, and the cane sword smacked her square on the forehead, sending her into the dirt face-first.

"Musubi-san, that doesn't work very well in real life," Miya said politely, putting a hand to her mouth to hide the giggles spilling out."You might be able to pull that off considering your special talents, but with a bladed weapon that would just hurt you unless your hands were properly protected."

Musubi smacked her hands down on the ground and pushed, pulling her face up from where Miya's blow had planted it. "Yes, Landlady-sama," she said, taking a moment to spit out a few clods of dirt. "I'll keep practicing then."

"Oi, Miya, you shouldn't tease her like that," Uzume said from the porch. She was laying flat on her belly with a catlike smile on her face. "No Sekirei on earth could catch a weapon if you're swinging it."

Musubi's eyes went wide as saucers. "Wait! Uzume-san! You know about Sekirei?"

In response, Uzume simply rolled onto her back and sat up, turning away from Musubi. She then brushed aside her hair pulled down her collar. Sure enough, a small Sekirei mark, colored red and flesh like Akitsu's, was stamped right at the nape of her neck. With a lazy flick of her hand, she let her hair and clothes settle back in place, then turned to face Musubi again. "It never came up before, but I guess it's better you know now anyway. I was gonna tell Sahashi-chan at some point, but it slipped my mind. Didn't want him to get the wrong idea about me keepin' it secret."

Musubi began to tremble in her usual super-excited way as she inched closer to the porch. "So, then, Uzume-san...how about we have a quick—"

Uzume raised her hands in surrender, and crinkled her eyes with a sheepish smile. "No, no, that's not for me. I don't like to fight, Plan or no Plan. Plus, you know what Miya says about fighting in Izumo, yeah? I don't think you want to get punished with no lunch today."

Musubi's stomach, empty thanks to a lack of breakfast, chose that moment to growl, and she slumped to the ground, her head bowed. "Oh, right." Though Akitsu sat stolidly on the porch, her own stomach let out a petite rumble, as did Kusano's; the former chose to respond with a slight twitching of her cheek and a stifled grunt, while the latter splayed out on the porch, whining, "Kuu is hungry~"

"Musubi-san, I'll need you to go shopping later on today," Miya said. "If you move quickly, I'll have a special meal ready for you when you come back." She shifted slightly, standing in what Musubi recognized as her ready position; body tilted to the side, with the hilt of the cane sword at hip level and facing forward. "In the meantime, shall we continue?"

Musubi nodded once and took her Rindoukan stance, grinning. "I'm ready anytime you are, Landlady-sama!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Minato was in the middle of dropping off a load of bricks near the base of the building on-site. Seo hadn't shown up at all to the yard, and when Minato had asked the foreman where Seo had gone, it turned out that he'd quit working at the site entirely ("and it's a good thing too," the foreman had muttered. "Damn fool was either skipping out or bringing those girls around all the time. You know how many people we had hurt themselves staring after those two maids?").

"Well, he'll show up at the inn eventually, I guess," Minato said. "Though, I'd rather not see Asama-san use his head as a bowling pin again. Especially not with a rock." He shuddered. Seeing Miya so casually throw a rock the size of Seo's head without even straining herself really made him wonder what the hell she was made of. The only thing more impressive was if the scruffy Ashikabi had managed to stay alive afterward.

After a moment, he shook his head and picked up the wheelbarrow, ready to pick up more bricks, but paused when Hikari's voice called out, "Hey, lazybones!" He groaned, and looked toward the entrance to the site, near the beam where he and Seo had eaten lunch the other day, and saw her standing there in her maid outfit, her narrow eyes looking surprisingly bored. He put down the barrow as gently as he could and jogged over to meet her; what was she doing here now that Seo wasn't working?

"What is it, Hikari-san?" he asked her as he came within earshot. "If you're looking for Seo-san, he quit..."

The lightning Sekirei grimaced and closed one eye. "Nah, nothing like that, though I wish you hadn't reminded me about that," she muttered. "Seo wanted me to give you this, is all." She produced a business card that had written on it "Seo Kaoru, The Helpful Freelancer—I Do Everything", as well as a phone number and address; as Minato took it from her, he noticed messy writing in the corner, and squinted to read it.

" 'You get the friends and family discount'—wait, what?" Minato's eyebrow shot up into his hair. "Discount? He actually has the nerve to charge people for something vague like this?!"

Hikari sighed. "You only met him yesterday, but I would figure even a dumbass like you would have Seo pegged by now. When it comes to cash and feeding himself, he'll do just about anything. The only question is whether he'll do it right."

"I thought I already had a conversation with one of you two about name-calling, Miss S&M Number 1," Minato replied, his tone flat. "Anyway, thanks for the card, but you should probably beat it for now. The foreman doesn't like it when you hang around here, he says you distract people so much that they get injured."

Hikari rolled her eyes and shrugged, fighting back the urge to snap at Minato for making fun of her clothes. "Fine, fine. Anyway, we'll try to keep that idiot from swinging back around to Izumo until your landlady doesn't feel like killing him. Til then, take care of yourself, Sahashi."

With that, she walked off, and Minato groaned, pocketed the card, and jogged back to where he'd left the wheelbarrow. "Why didn't her sister come instead? Her attitude's so much much better."

* * *

**5:30 PM**

**Izumo Inn**

As Minato walked down the street where Izumo Inn was located, he sighed, a tired, satisfied smile on his face. All things considered, the work hadn't been hard, but the exercise that he'd gotten on site had really invigorated him. If he had time before dinner, it'd be a perfect time to show Musubi some more moves, depending on how her training with Miya had been going in the daytime. Right when he got to the gates of the inn, the front door opened and Musubi trotted out, smiling broadly. Her expression only grew more bright when she saw Minato, and she immediately rushed over to hug him. "Minato-sama! How was work?"

"A good exercise," he replied, smiling back and returning her affectionate squeeze. "My muscles are nice and loose. I was thinking of showing you some more moves, but it looks like you're headed out somewhere."

"The landlady sent me to get groceries!" Musubi said, releasing him and beginning to bounce in place. Minato then noticed the canvas bag slung over her shoulder, presumably for the groceries in question. "And she already started making some special curry for me to have for lunch tomorrow! I love curry!"

Minato chuckled at her boundless energy and rubbed her head, squishing down one hair of hers that liked to stand up. "Well, if she wanted you to go, then you should probably get gone. The shops won't be open for too much longer since it's Sunday, and it's already kind of late. When you come back, we'll train."

Musubi nodded once and immediately set out, calling out over her shoulder, "Goodbye, Minato-sama! See you soon!"

Minato nodded in response and headed for the gates, unaware that the entire thing had been captured on camera, and that in her secret room, Matsu was watching them both from her room via monitor, grinning like a madwoman as she pulled up the control systems for a satellite. "And now, while you're out and distracted, Number 88, I'll have my precious satellite laser play with you. Then, once Minato enters the bath to soak, I'll have my way with him, ku hu hu~"

* * *

**5:50 PM**

The shopping district that Miya preferred to frequent was on the eastern side of Shintou Teitou's central area; for Musubi, the trip by roof was relatively quick, letting her avoid the flood of pedestrian traffic and any number of other hangups that would have kept her out later than she wanted. She was super excited to get back to the Inn and spar with Minato; her footwork had taken some major strides since Miya had started training her, and she was positive that she would impress him enough to start learning real moves, like the ones he and his sister had been throwing around during their match.

As she exited the supermarket with the ingredients for dinner, she patted the woven cloth of the brown canvas bag and smiled, singing a tune to herself. "We are fighting dreamers, aiming for the very top...fighting dreamers, no matter how we look...fighting dreamers, doing things that we believe in..."

Many, many miles above her, a satellite shifted its position, following her perfectly until it was almost directly on top of her. Then, a small spark of light gathered at its cylindrical base; the spark soon grew into a sphere—and then disappeared, as a column of light blasted down from the bottom of the satellite.

Back on Earth, Musubi had just hopped up onto a roof when something tingled at the base of her neck. Frowning, she shook her head and jumped to the next roof. Just as she landed atop the round skyscraper she'd been aiming for, the satellite's shot hit the ground, passing through the gap between buildings that she'd just crossed over with her jump. Confused by the sudden flash behind her, Musubi turned toward it and heard the shot pulverize the concrete on the street below, only to see something flash in the sky at the very top of her vision. The tingle at her neck returned, and she immediately jumped again, going to the streets this time. As she broke into a full sprint through an alley that led back to a main street, another burst hit the ground just behind her, followed by another, and another, and another.

"I have no idea what's going on here, but I think it's time I get a little more serious," she said to herself, her feet pounding down the sidewalk. "Landlady-sama is expecting me back soon." She clutched the bag closer to her body, afraid that the light would hit it if it flew out behind her, and began to breathe in and out, remembering what Minato had told her about ki during one of their private morning training sessions.

"_Ki makes your body stronger. It gives you the strength to take hits you wouldn't be able to normally. It helps it move smoothly and quickly. It can't accelerate your healing or anything, but it can overall make you much tougher than you should be—so long as you maintain that breathing."_

Once she got her pattern down, her limbs surged with new energy, and she took off at a breakneck speed, blurring the world around her and moving her pace from "just keeping ahead of the mysterious light" to "taking a comfortable lead".

* * *

**5:55 PM**

**Izumo Inn, Matsu's Room**

In the computer room, Matsu was staring in shock at her main screen, her jaw practically unhinged from her face.

"How is this possible!?" the redhead wailed, pulling at her braids. "Even with the delay on the laser, it shouldn't be possible for a Sekirei to outrun it! What is going on here?" She flicked her eyes over to another monitor, observing the bath; the only one inside was Uzume, sighing comfortably as she sank into the water. In contrast, another screen showed Minato out in the yard, continuing to train and exercise, with Akitsu and Kusano watching him as intently as they had Musubi and Miya earlier in the day. "And why won't he go in to take a bath already? I won't be able to sneak up on him unless I can get him by himself for a while!"

A monitor that was tracking Musubi's movements and syncing the satellite with her location began to beep loudly, and when Matsu looked at it, she had to fight back an unholy screech. Damned Musubi had actually made it to the outskirts of the neighborhood where Izumo was located. If she didn't stop the laser now, at the speed Musubi was going she'd have it cutting up the inn's front yard in only two or three minutes at best. With muttered curses, Matsu relinquished control of the orbital death ray, giving it commands to go back to its proper orbit. Her plan had failed, for now. She would just have to take her chances with plan B.

* * *

**6:00 PM**

**Izumo Inn**

Musubi sighed and shook her head as she fished the keys to the Inn out of the shopping bag and opened the front door. The weird attack had finally stopped as she got closer to Izumo Inn, and so she'd finally eased up on her breakneck running pace. However, even with the deep breaths she was taking, she was noticeably winded, and she could feel the sweat beading on her forehead and staining her undergarments and armpits. _I really could go for a bath right now, but then I'll just get sweaty working out with Minato-sama. I'll have to wait, I guess._

"I'm home!" she called.

"That took longer than I expected," Miya's voice replied, and Musubi looked to her right just in time to see the landlady walk down the hallway and turn the corner. The moment Miya saw Musubi's disheveled appearance, she blinked in surprise and raised an eyebrow. "You're sweating quite a bit! Musubi-san, what happened?"

Musubi slipped the shopping bag off of her shoulder and gave it to Miya, then sighed, scratching the back of her head with her eyes closed. "I was on my way back from the shop when these weird explosions started following after me from the sky. They looked like beams of light. But Minato-sama's breathing technique gave me lots of energy to run!"

The moment she said that, Musubi immediately clapped her hands over her mouth as if she'd said something foul. Miya blinked, but inside of her head, a warning flag went off.

"What time did you leave the store, Musubi-san?" Miya asked, shifting the grocery bag to her shoulder. Musubi's unintended slip couldn't really be taken advantage of since she'd already realized what she said; Miya would need a different tactic here.

"It was just about 5:50," Musubi said, scratching her head again. "Why do you ask?"

Now Miya knew for sure that something was up. Admittedly, Musubi might have been taking less pedestrian routes to get to the store and back considering that she had made the walk there in twenty minutes when it was closer to thirty or thirty-five normally for Miya. But ten minutes flat would be difficult for most Sekirei, even at the peak of physical fitness. Ignoring all that, she had Musubi's very own words, albeit words Musubi hadn't meant to was wrong here.

_I do believe that it's time to press Sahashi-san a little bit harder about some things, _Miya decided, allowing a small frown to cross her face. Musubi skipped over to the porch and yard, greeting Minato with a cheerful "I'm ready, Minato-sama!"

* * *

As soon as Musubi called out to him, Minato stopped his drills and returned her affectionate hug when she came out to the yard. Once they separated, Musubi beamed up at him, clenching her fists. "So will you teach me techniques now, Minato-shishou? I've been working hard on my movement and my breathing and I think I'm ready!"

"Well, that depends," Minato replied, glancing to the porch as Miya came from the hallway and stood, watching them silently. "Asama-san, how has Musubi been doing? Do you think she's made enough progress?"

"I don't know very much about what you intend to teach her," Miya said, her voice surprisingly cold. Minato seemed slightly taken aback at his landlady's shift in demeanor, and Musubi, Akitsu, and Kusano all looked between him and Miya with confusion written on their faces—_they'd heard it too, then,_ Minato thought to himself. "I will leave it to your judgment, Sahashi-san."

After a brief, awkward silence, Minato nodded, and turned back to Musubi. "Then we'll start you off easy," he said, putting his hands on his hips and shifting his bare feet on the ground before continuing. "There are basically three levels of attacks you will be learning. We have the intermediate techniques, which are all just strikes with specific names and applications. Then there are the advanced techniques, which are usually strong enough to deal with opponents that basic and intermediate techniques can't defeat. The last set of techniques, above the advanced ones, are the 'succession' techniques. There are three of them, and they're the hardest moves to execute in Rindoukan—they will build on everything you know already, and are pretty much...lethal for opponents, when applied correctly." His voice faltered a bit, then, but he eventually shook his head and sighed. "Anyway, we'll start with the intermediate techniques. Since the Kazami is something you're already familiar with—" here, he took his stance and fired off a jab with his rear hand, turning into the blow—"we'll move to the Kaoruna."

He returned to stance and clenched his lead hand closed, then took a breath and a short step forward. When he put his leading foot on the ground, it was more of a slam than a step; he pushed himself forward, let out the breath, and struck with a short punch all at the same time, keeping his elbow bent. Despite the short range, Musubi could feel the tremors from the step and see his fist shake as he hit the imaginary target.

"This is good for surprising your opponent up close—when they think that even your fastest jabs will be too predictable, or will take too much time for you to land one successfully," he said, relaxing from stance and standing normally once again. "The step gives you slightly more range than you think, but if you overestimate it, you'll be in trouble. You also have to take a second to set your feet, so make sure that before you use it you're already braced." He stepped back a bit, and gestured with one hand. "Do it a couple of times on your own, and then we'll move on to the Shimaki and the Yamase. That'll be all I teach you from the intermediate set, for now. Once you get those two correct, I'll teach you the Hayate from the advanced set, and we'll go from there."

Musubi nodded once, took stance, and immediately began to practice. Though he was watching her carefully, Minato could feel Miya's eyes locked onto him, and wondered what he had done to upset his normally-placid landlady. He resolved to ask her privately, once dinner was finished; something about her expression disturbed him, even if he couldn't put a word to it at first.

* * *

**7:30 PM**

Minato and Musubi spent another hour training before dinner was ready, and they ate without incident, though Miya was silent throughout. The moment everyone got up from the table, Minato stayed behind to help Miya pick up the dishes, as he usually did, but waited until everyone left the room before he began to speak to her. "Asama-san, what's wrong?" he asked, stacking his plate, Musubi's, and Akitsu's on top of one another. "Ever since Musubi-san came back you've been really quiet. Did something happen?"

"Musubi-san simply told me an interesting story," Miya replied, gathering the plates on the opposite side of the table. Unlike Minato, who was already cradling the ones he had, she let them sit where they were, ignoring them in favor of looking him directly in the eye. "She said she was attacked by a light from the sky. And that she used your 'breathing technique' to outrun it."

Minato immediately felt a chill crawl down his back. He was unable to hide the stiffness that came over his posture, and Miya continued, her face still set in a neutral mask. "Now, both you and I know that Musubi-san isn't quite normal, but she made a trip that takes me thirty-five minutes or so at a normal pace in ten minutes. Now if she shaved maybe five or ten minutes off of that time, I could believe that she was, say, jumping on the rooftops. However, I am positive that ten minutes is far beyond her ability. I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at."

Minato put down the plates and let his body sag, inclining his head as he tried to figure out what to say. At length, he recalled his father's words once more. "_Can't tell just anyone about 'ki', Min. If you're gonna teach someone Rindoukan, or you can trust 'em with a secret, go on ahead."_

_I guess I might as well show Asama-san that trust that I couldn't before._

His decision made, Minato raised his head and nodded. "Asama-san. What I tell you has to stay absolutely secret." He paused again, gathering his thoughts, and said, "One of Rindoukan's fundamental skills is the skill called 'breathing and walking'. It emphasizes control of ones breathing and movement at the same time. My father's grandfather eventually found out that when he did this while concentrating his mind to the utmost, he could tap into the spiritual potential of the human body, ki. Eventually, he developed a process that would enable people to draw out their connection with their ki without deep meditation, and push their body's power, resilience, and performance to higher levels. However, not everyone can control ki properly enough to learn how to apply it to Rindoukan. It takes practice, dedication, and to a certain extent, luck."

"I see," Miya said. "And so you think Musubi-san might have been able to access this power? But how? She's a Sekirei, and you said that ki is a human trait."

Minato shrugged. "When Sekirei are winged, it seems to release some form of ki from their body, in the form of wings. I've been thinking about it, and it may be that anything which is alive and sentient has the power to use ki. If that's the case, Sekirei might using it without even being trained, which could be why they're better than humans on a baseline level." He folded his arms. "I think Musubi-san demonstrated what would happen if that basic use was actually focused and concentrated with formal training."

Miya took all of this information in with the same stoic face. Unsure as to what she was thinking or what she would do next, Minato simply sucked up what was left of his pride and bowed deeply. The gesture made her blink, but as he couldn't see it, he kept talking. "Asama-san. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about this when you were asking me about my fighting style. But you have to understand that this isn't something that Rindoukan students tell people who aren't supposed to know." He held the bow until he heard Miya's footsteps approach him.

Then, a small hand patted the back of his head, rubbing it gently. "Stand up, Sahashi-san," Miya said. "If you stay like that for so long you'll break your back." Confused, he did so, and looked down a bit to see Miya smiling gently at him. "I understand your reasons, even if I am a bit disappointed that you were hiding something so important from me. At the very least, though, I think you should explain it to Akitsu-san—she'll keep the secret, and when your sister comes over to play, that will be one less thing Akitsu-san will have to worry about."

Minato returned Miya's smile with a small grin at her choice of words. "I did give her a bit of a scare, didn't I? Well, I'll tell her right away. No need to worry about that." He moved closer to the table and picked up another two plates, then put them atop the stack he'd been holding and began to make his way to the kitchen.

Before he could leave, though, Miya said, "Sahashi-san, I want you to answer one more question for me. Why do you describe your father's family as if they aren't your family?"

Minato stopped in his tracks and blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Miya folded her arms. "You will call your father 'Dad' every now and then, but your grandfather is always 'father's father', and your great-grandfather is always 'father's grandfather'. Is there a reason for that or am I just picking at semantics?"

Minato was silent again, but when he spoke, he did so slowly, without turning around. "Well, my real father, I...I don't know him. The guy I call Dad is my mom's...well, I guess you could say her boyfriend. He's the closest Yukari and I have to a father. I've gotten used to him so I can call him dad and not think twice about it, but when it comes to his ancestors I feel like I don't have the right to call them grandpa and great-grandpa or anything like that. They're his ancestors, not mine. If Dad and Mom were married, then...then, it'd be different, but they've been dancing around it for years."

Miya gathered up the rest of the plates and let those words sink in for a while before she said anything more. "I see. I'm sorry for prying, Sahashi-san. I was just a bit concerned by some things and I used that as an excuse to be nosy."

Minato laughed in reply, and shook his head, smiling. "No, it's fine. I just get too used to bottling things up now and then. I forget that it's good to talk to people when you have things like that on your mind."

Miya was about to respond when she looked at the paper-screened dining room doors and saw the faint shadows of people standing behind them.

Outside, in the hallway, Musubi, Akitsu, Kusano, Uzume, and even Homura, unaware that their shadows had been seen, had been listening in on the entire conversation. Homura and Uzume were the most surprised by what they'd heard, realizing that Minato had effectively stated he could outperform normal people just by breathing differently, while Musubi and Akitsu were the least (the former because she knew already and was still beating herself up for letting the secret out, and the latter because, well, Akitsu was Akitsu).

Kusano understood absolutely none of it and was simply tagging along because everyone was crowding the door.

"So bro actually has some kind of human superpowers," Uzume muttered to Homura. "I never would have guessed that was how he walked away from a beating like his sis gave him." She scratched her chin. "Isn't that cool, Kaga-chan?"

"Sure," Homura said, ignoring the fact that Uzume had somehow managed to cute-ify his fake name. _But if a Sekirei accessing their own power was that simple, why would an Ashikabi even be needed in the system of the Sekirei Plan? Wouldn't Minaka have discovered this on his own somehow? __And does this mean that those breathing techniques might help me control my fire? If it's all derived from that ki stuff, there's no reason why..._

While they pondered that question, they failed that Miya had moved to stand in front of them until she cleared her throat. "I most certainly hope you all realize that I am not blind. I saw your shadows on the door." Eerie red lights shone in the cloud around her and echoing howls blew through the hallway. "Now, what shall your punishment be~"

The other residents of the Inn trembled in fear as the very corners of Miya's mouth twitched upward.

* * *

**7:35 PM**

After Miya scolded everyone for trespassing so carelessly on the private conversation and forbade them from having desserts for the next few days, Minato traipsed off to the bath; though he'd made sure to warm up and cool off properly after working with Musubi, his body had basically reached its limit in terms of endurance. He hadn't been sweating much, but a good shower and then a quiet evening reading would suit him best for now, especially since school would be starting up a week from tomorrow.

The tub water was still warm, and Minato's sore muscles cried out in relief as he let himself steam in it. From the feel of it, Miya had probably set up so that he could go in right after dinner, and he appreciated the thought. Her scary moments aside, his landlady really took pains to look out for him and the others. It was sort of like having a second mom.

When he got out of the tub, rinsed off, and wrapped his towel around him, he heard someone slip into the bathroom. They were walking softly, but having lived with Musubi and Akitsu for a while, he could tell that whoever had entered wasn't either of them, nor was it Kusano; Musubi's steps were firm and quick, while Akitsu's were softer and slower, but no less decisive. Kusano tended to walk whimsically, putting her feet all over the place. He then assumed that it was Homura, or maybe (and hopefully _not_) Uzume, given that he hadn't been around them long enough to get a feel for their footfalls. It most definitely wasn't Miya, though; she knew that he was in here and wouldn't have bothered entering.

He turned to face the newcomer and was mildly surprised to see a buxom redheaded girl with two braids, red-brown eyes, and a towel wrapped around her body, approaching him with a sultry, hungry smile. In fact, his surprise was so mild that he flinched away, hit the wall with his back, and wound up nearly falling and busting his ass on the floor before he steadied himself. "What the—who the hell are you!?"

"Minato Sahashi, age 19," the girl said. "Native of Wakayama, residing there with his grandmother, sister, and legal guardian until graduating high school age 18, at which time he moved to Shintou Teitou to prepare for entrance exams. Mother, Takami Sahashi, is employed at MBI. Biological father unknown."

Her voice was low and calm, and Minato was trying to think of what to do when he realized that she was rattling off private information like she was reading a shopping list. "Legal guardian, and father by proxy, Masaru Takada: self-employed, current Master of the Rindoukan School of Karate, whereabouts at present unknown. Subject is currently an incoming first-year student at Shintou Teitou University; scored at the top of exams in middle and high school, and graduated as #1 student in the class. Winner of the Young Dragon tournament hosted in Oosaka two years ago, as well as a number of smaller competitions. Currently the heir to the Rindoukan School upon the recommendation of his legal guardian, but has yet to complete the ceremony that will formally transfer the title to him."

She paused, and allowed her smile to grow wider, crossing the distance between them and pressing him to the wall. "Such a man is my Ashikabi? It's hard to believe, and yet my body isn't lying to me."

Minato did his best to control his raging emotions and focus on this girl's face, even as it inched closer and closer to his. "So you're a Sekirei, then? Mind giving me a name and explaining to me why you thought a bath was the best time to jump me before I throw you out of here?"

"A girl doesn't make a confession in public, is what I thought," she replied. "And as for my name...I am number 02, Matsu."

He should've seen it coming, but that final push on Matsu's part squished her bust against his chest, and the feeling distracted him. Noticing this, she pushed her head all the way in and kissed him, closing her eyes to savor the moment. Amber wings of light spread out from her back, and while Minato felt the warmth of ki flowing from them, it was less noticeable than Musubi's or even Kusano's. _Does that mean she's not as strong, I wonder, _the rational part of his brain asked, before realizing that Matsu had given her number as two. _Wait a minute, didn't Musubi-san say that single digits were stronger __than...?!_ His eyes widened slightly. _I just winged one of the strongest Sekirei. Where the hell did she even come from?! How did she know all of that stuff about me? Could she be an MBI spy?_

When the wings faded, Matsu pulled back, her cheeks flushed. She immediately clasped her hands together and began to wiggle in an extremely disturbing fashion. "Iyaaa~ it was amazing. My body feels wonderful, and even now, those lips, those lips! I can taste them still~" Her smile broke into a wide grin, and the hunger came back onto her face, stronger than ever, as she reached out to Minato with trembling hands. "Ku hu hu hu. I think it's time, my darling Ashikabi, my prized test subject. This bath shall be the perfect place for us to consummate our union and begin our lifelong experiences~! Now and forever~~!"

_For some reason, _Minato thought, feeling his eyes shrink in his skull at the bald-faced lechery that Matsu's body was practically radiating, _I feel like I need an adult. **Right now.**_

"Oh, my, my, my. I thought I heard some odd noises coming from in here..."

Matsu froze immediately the moment that Miya's voice echoed off the walls of the bath and the sound of slow, deliberate steps followed in their wake. Minato's response was similar, but he managed to get a hold of his mouth before things could get (relatively) worse. "Asama-san, I swear, I didn't—I don't even know where she—I'm innocent! I swear to every god there is! It's all her fault!"

"Now, now, Sahashi-san. It's all right. I know exactly where Matsu-san came from and what it is she was doing. You have no need to worry, I don't intend to punish you." Miya said, continuing to take slow, deliberate steps toward them. When she fully came into the bath, he and Matsu noticed two things. One: she was carrying her cane sword in hand, with the blade fully revealed. Two: her smile was just a hint too wide, and the ghostly demon mask that she had used to intimidate Seo was back in full force, peering over her shoulder amongst the dark cloud that surrounded Miya.

"Matsu-san," Miya said slowly, whispering each syllable with utmost calm, "lecherous acts in Izumo Inn are _not allowed_. And on top of that, seduction of other tenants—particularly, impressionable young men, in the bath or anywhere else—is_ not allowed._"

The edge of the blade sparkled, and Minato very quietly stood up and inched his way out of the bath, leaving Matsu to quail in fright as Miya drew ever closer.

* * *

Shortly afterward, Matsu and Minato were standing in the living room with Miya, fully clothed. Matsu had put on a pair of large, round-lensed glasses, and a long-sleeved white dress, which had a high collar, notched in the front, exposed her shoulders, and had a small diamond-shaped opening positioned on her cleavage. "Let me reintroduce myself. As I said in the bath, I'm number 02, Matsu," she said, bowing slightly. "I know you haven't seen me around, but I'm a tenant here, too. My room is 201, at the end of the hallway near the stairs."

"But all that's there is a wall," Minato replied, scratching his head. "Unless you're saying there's a secret door...?"

Miya nodded. "The wall turns inward to allow access to the space. Takehito had that scummy fellow build it for him; my dear husband was rather fond of practical jokes like that. As for how Matsu-san came to stay in there, well. Let's say that she and MBI have a rather poor relationship, and when she came to me for help, I couldn't turn her away." The not-smile returned as she looked placidly at Matsu. "Then again, considering that she had you wing her in the bath and then attempted to have improper relations with you, perhaps I should evict her..."

"Please, Miya-tan, don't do it," Matsu wailed, crocodile tears streaming down her face. "I promise I'll behave. I really will."

Miya simply turned and headed out of the room. "See to it that you do, Matsu-san," she said over her shoulder. "Also, I should warn you now that Sahashi-san's other Sekirei make a habit of sneaking into his room in the night—I understand how you want to stay alongside someone that means so much to you, but in this house those kinds of acts are _not permitted_, and you should avoid joining in."

Matsu wilted, letting her head hang as if her neck had been broken. "I understand, Miya-tan," she mumbled.

Once Miya was gone, Minato shook his head and sighed. "You're planning on doing it anyway, I can tell," he said, and Matsu blinked. "I'm pretty much positive that the other two and Akitsu-san will get into my bed somehow tonight, they always do, and you don't seem like the type that takes no for an answer. They should still be awake upstairs, so let's introduce you so that the morning isn't awkward."

"You're pretty calm about this, Mina-tan," Matsu said, folding her arms and tilting her head to look at her Ashikabi. The glare of the light caused her glasses to shine and hide her eyes. "Aren't you going to get in trouble, too?"

Minato scratched his head. "Asama-san has figured out that I'm not the one that gets them to come into my room, they just do. So they get the punishment, not me. It only started today but I'm pretty sure she'll keep it up if they keep trying." He felt a blush cross his face. "I...well, it's a little hard to wake up, but I'm used to it, and it feels nice to have everyone around me for a little bit. I get that Sekirei are really attached to their Ashikabi, so...I understand."

Matsu pouted, but smiled after a moment. _He's so cute when he's embarrassed, and I already knew that he really likes the others, but he actually admitted that he likes to cuddle._ She just barely managed to keep her lips from twisting her expression into lechery._ Ku hu hu. I think I made a very good choice._

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Sorry for the delay, everyone. Got moved into a new place and my internet was out for a while so I didn't get a chance to post this chapter even though it was ready to go. :(_

_By and large, a lot happened this chapter, but hopefully it is to everyone's liking. Hopefully I've managed to capture some essence of Matsu here;_

_I'm experimenting with trying to perfect a new style of writing, so hopefully my tendency to be verbose is less of an issue now (except when Tsukiumi talks of course). It will probably become more obvious once I write chapter 9, as that's the only thing I have to do freshly for the first time in a while._

_Review Response:  
_

_As always, to those that complimented without asking specific questions, I give thanks and am happy to hear that you enjoyed the chapter._

_Guest: Your point about that whole scene with Seo is noted and a corrected version of the chapter has gone up to address the point. To be honest I sort of forgot about how Hikari and/or Hibiki would react to something like that actually happening, since it was intended to be comic relief slapstick. As far as Miya and Homura's reactions to Kusano's winging, I would say that it has less to do with the act itself, and more with the fact that (1) Minaka offered up Kuu as a prize to whoever could get her first, which could have been extremely bad for her emotional heath to put it bluntly, and (2) he doesn't care about how much of a danger she could be without her powers being fully adjusted. Musubi's ideal of the Sekirei relationship comes pretty much whole-cloth from Yume, just like it does in canon. I'll have to find a way to touch on that momentarily..._

_As for what program I use to write, good old LibreOffice does the trick for me (migrated from OpenOffice within the last year or so). I don't find it any harder to use than, say, Microsoft Word, and since it's free that makes my life ten times easier._

_I've managed to get over my writer's block, and Chapters 7 and 8 will be good to go on their dates. 9 is in progress now. _

_With any luck, I will see you all on August 17th with Chapter 7. Take care and enjoy._

_~ZS_


	7. A Promise Between Wagtails

_**Wakayama, Japan: Sahashi Residence**_

_**2014**_

_**Thursday, 6:00 PM**_

_In retrospect, Minato probably should have realized that Yukari wasn't the same since he'd finally claimed a decisive victory over her. _

_Part of the reason why he had missed this change was because he'd been uncomfortable after he'd beaten her. Despite her insistence that she was fine, he could see the frustration brimming in her eyes when they sparred, and that brought back the memory of her sitting on the ground, holding back tears. It had burned at every fraternal instinct in his body to see her come so close to tears once before, and so he couldn't fight her the way she wanted him to. If he beat her again...she'd cry again. He couldn't bear the responsibility of making that happen to her, no matter what._

_He was so absorbed in that worry that he didn't notice Yukari's growing anger at being underestimated. Whenever they sparred and he pulled back from a move that would let him win decisively, he could see the fire burning behind her gaze whenever their father called sessions to a halt. Yet he still didn't understand what she was really upset about, thinking that she was just frustrated about not getting a decisive victory._

_Then came Thursday._

_After their training session in the afternoon, Yukari had disappeared, saying something about going to clear her head. After an hour or so with her still gone, Minato's grandmother had asked him to go and find her before it got too much later and she missed dinner—apparently, their mother was coming in from Shintou Teitou for a few days before heading back out to work again. After checking the house and finding no sign of Yukari in her room or elsewhere, Minato began to head outside, stepping down the steps of the back patio to search the yard and the surrounding area. She wouldn't have gone into town at this time of day, so she had to be somewhere around._

_Right as Minato's feet landed on the spongy grass, his father's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Oi, Min. Need to talk to you for a second."_

_Blinking, Minato turned around and looked up, where his father was dressed in casual evening wear—a black jacket, black slacks, and a white, collared, long-sleeved shirt. The usual easy grin on the older man's face was absent, and Minato felt smaller than usual under Masaru's introspective gaze. It felt like Masaru was looking straight through him._

"_I noticed that you've been down since you beat Yucchi last week," Masaru said, folding his arms. "Most important, I noticed that you ain't been putting forward your best effort since then. It's like all your spirit just up and died. You won't fight seriously, and you're making Yucchi feel bad 'cause of that. I'd sit down and take a look at how you're handling things before you go and do something that you can't take back."_

_With that, Masaru left, not even offering his son a good bye. Minato simply stared at the door back into the house for a few moments longer, then turned forward once more, looking toward the growth of trees at the back of their property. Their father would sometimes take them to one of the small clearings back there for meditation, or a rare spar against him. However, he was the one that led them there and led them back; they weren't allowed to go on their own. Minato, being the more observant of the Sahashi children, knew the ways in and out better than Yukari did, but Masaru could easily navigate the woods blindfolded._

_Frowning, Minato looked up at the orange-streaked sky, feeling the warmth of the day fade away to cold night breezes. If Yukari had gone into the woods for whatever reason, then she was running out of time to return safely. He could go in and look for her before it got too dark, but if he didn't find her, then he ran the risk of getting equally lost._

_Moments later, he was walking back into the house in search of a flashlight._

_Better to run the risk now than wait for her to be put in danger._

* * *

_**~Petal 7: A Promise Between Wagtails~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Sunday, 7:30 PM**

In his room, Minato sat at his desk, staring down at his phone as orange sunlight streamed in to his room. The screen was flipped up, and his mother's contact information was displayed on it, but he was hesitating to call her. The fact that he had found Kusano yesterday was enough to prove that whatever the young Sekirei had to say about "Takami-nee-chan" was likely accurate. In all of the bustle and madness of the previous day, he hadn't even thought of calling her to make sure, but now that things were relatively more settled, he had to at least try, for his peace of mind if nothing else.

With a steadying breath, he hit the "call" button and put the phone to his ear, leaning back in his chair. A few rings later, the line clicked, and Takami's voice crackled across the speakers. _"What is it, Minato?"_

"Just calling to check in, Mom," he replied, feeling the knot in his stomach loosen slightly. "Um, I don't know if you know already, but I winged a Sekirei named..."

"_Minaka filled me in already,"_ Takami said, her voice harsh enough to imply that she'd wished he hadn't. _"That brat of a man always does these kinds of things. Never regrets them either."_ She let out a breathy sigh, and Minato could almost see her shaking her head. _"Anyway. You did a good job winging Kusano before anyone else got to her. She shouldn't have been released to begin with, but some jackass Sekirei with a scythe and her Ashikabi attacked her while I was watching over her. I got a little banged up, but it's nothing serious; the bandage will be off my eye in a few days."_

Minato's hand tightened ominously around his phone. "Sekirei with a scythe? Bandage on your eye? Mom, what the hell did she do to you?!"

"_Hey, take it easy,"_ Takami replied. _"By the looks of it, she's been terminated already, so you've missed your chance for payback. And I don't need it."_

"I knew that already," Minato said, speaking slowly in order to master his reignited anger at Yomi; she'd had the gall to not only try and steal Kusano away, but she'd hurt his mother in the process. "Akitsu-san did it, and now that I know that Yomi hurt you, I'm not at all bothered by the fact that Akitsu was the one to terminate her."

On the other side of the line, Takami's lips tightened into a frown._"Oh, so she ran into Akitsu. I can't say I was surprised though. You seem to have missed the part where Akitsu shoved a chunk of ice about as big around as your fist through Yomi's stomach. At least, that's what the report I received says." _

Minato failed to hold back a choked gasp, and Takami sighed again as the clicking of a lighter came from the phone's speakers. _"Sounds like you didn't stay to see that," _she said. _"Might be a good thing you didn't, considering your reaction just now. Hate to think what you would've said to Akitsu if you'd seen it yourself."_

"...I'm certain she had a good reason," Minato muttered, slowly shaking his head to clear away the shock. "Akitsu-san isn't the kind of person that would just do that to to someone else without being provoked into it."

"_If that's what you want to believe, that's fine," _Takami replied. _"Anyway, if you're calling just to check up on me, I'm fine. Like I said, all I got was a cut across the eyelid, didn't even touch the eye itself." _She paused, taking an audible drag on her cigarette, then continued, her voice softer and less distant. _"I'll stop by to visit in a day or two. We have no real excuse to avoid each other now that you live closer, and it's been a while since I saw you. Will you be free?"_

Minato leaned back into his chair, letting his shoulders slump as he sighed. "Classes start a week from tomorrow, and I don't have as many days at the construction site this week, only Thursday and Friday. Feel free to come by."

"_Wednesday evening, then. Is that all right?"_

Minato nodded. "Yes, it's fine. I'll let Asama-san know so that she can make dinner for you."

_"Sounds like a plan then."_ Takami took another drag on her cigarette, then grunted. _"I'm going to turn in early. I have an appointment in the morning. Take care, son."_

"You too, Mom," Minato replied. "See you soon."

Once she hung up, Minato put the phone down on his desk and looked at the dark brown wood with a distant stare. He was only brought out of his reverie by the sound of something shifting in the walls nearby; he looked up just in time to see his closet door open up. To his surprise, Matsu stepped out of it with a soft smile on her face.

"So this is where you got off to, Mina-tan," she said, walking over to him as the corners of her mouth turned up even further. "Who was that you were just talking to?"

"If you tell me that you weren't hiding in my closet and waiting for me to come back in here, I might tell you, Matsu-san," Minato replied with a somewhat playful smile, trying to hide the unease he felt at not realizing that he hadn't been alone.

"The Izumo Inn is full of secrets and mysteries, Mina-tan," Matsu responded, kissing him lightly on the cheek before she leaned against his desk. Her smile grew slightly more lecherous at the sight of the red stain across his cheeks, but she restrained herself from further teasing. If she let herself get carried away with experimentation, then Miya would be drawn to the room like a bolt of lightning. "But, seriously, you sounded really upset just now. If there's something wrong, you can tell me. Matsu may not look it, but she's good at keeping secrets."

Minato bit his lip for a moment and sank a bit lower into his chair. Part of his hesitance came from not really knowing Matsu that well (after all, he hadn't even been her Ashikabi for half a day yet). The other part of it was not wanting to burden her with his problems; Matsu seemed nice enough but he didn't feel like it was her place to listen to him complain.

The frown on his face prodded Matsu to squeeze his shoulder slightly, and the smile on her face slowly vanished. "Minato-sama," she said, her voice serious, "I only want to help you. If you don't talk to me, then I can't do that for you."

Minato looked at her, and saw nothing but honesty in her eyes. After releasing a slow, shuddering breath, he told her about what his mother had said about the injuries Akitsu had dealt to Yomi, as well as what little he knew about Takami's injuries.

"And what bothers me is that while part of me is honestly scared of Akitsu-san for doing something so brutal, part of me is fine with it because Yomi hurt my mother," he said, balling his hands into fists on the desk. "I shouldn't be so happy about someone else suffering like that, but I can't bring myself to be that upset about it. Even if it's a natural, selfish urge, it doesn't feel right."

Matsu was silent throughout the whole story, but she nodded thoughtfully once Minato was finished speaking. "You can't stop yourself from feeling that way, Minato-sama. It's like you said, it's a natural, selfish urge. You're angry that your mother was hurt and you feel...I guess, satisfied, since the person who hurt her got hurt in return." She put her hand over one of Minato's clenched fists, and he felt the muscles in it slacken and loosen at her touch. "But, you're not a bad person because of that feeling. If you were to let it consume you, so that you only feel happy when others are hurt, then that would be wrong. But you're worried about it, so I think that's as good a sign as any that you're not that far gone."

After sitting quietly for a few moments, Minato allowed himself a thin smile. It was easy to see that he wasn't completely convinced. _But he's not as mopey, and he was actually listening to me, _she thought. _That's the first step we need to take._

"Thanks for hearing me out, Matsu-san," he whispered, closing his eyes. "It's kind of obvious, I guess, but sometimes you need someone to remind you that it's OK to feel."

"Matsu told you she could help, Mina-tan," Matsu replied, putting back on her childish smile and nodding at him. Her hands were on her waist, and she was puffed up a bit, standing tall and proud, no longer leaned against the desk. "You're going to need to rely on me and Musubi-tan a lot more in the future, so I would get used to sharing everything—your happiness, your sadness, your love..." As Matsu spoke, light hit her glasses just so, and they gleamed, obscuring her eyes as her smile broadened into a toothy grin. "Even your body. Ku hu hu hu..."

Now that his mind wasn't preoccupied with heavy thoughts, Minato was in the perfect place to fall back on his experience with teasing Yukari to respond to Matsu's perverted intentions, and leaned back in his chair with an easy grin. "Well, if it's worth getting starved to death by Asama-san, we can give that last one a try sometime."

As expected, Matsu visibly deflated at the reminder that Miya wouldn't allow sex at Izumo Inn, pouting as she stared at Minato with half-lidded eyes. "Mina-tan is a wet blanket. Why would he say something to kill the mood like that?"

Minato jokingly waved her off and stood up, stretching his back with a grunt and a smile. "You already murdered it half-way with that awkward innuendo of yours." He checked the clock on the front of his phone, and nodded to himself. "Musubi-san should be ready for evening sparring and meditation. I'd better go down and go through her routine so that we can watch the stars before we go to bed."

"You do that here in the city?" Matsu asked. "Mina-tan, you know that between the lights and the smog, you're not going to see nearly as much as you do at home, right?"

Minato shrugged, but the expression on his face was pleasant, in contrast to the nonchalance of his movement. "I know. But we did it the first night we were here, and it felt good. The nights have been warming up lately, too, so it's a good way to spend some time together. Since I have school next week and everything, I'll be in and out for most of the rest of the week, getting supplies. I admit that getting used to the idea of being in committed relationships with three women is kind of challenging—" _and what else can I call it? _he thought—"but if nothing else I know that I need to spend time with everyone equally. I want to know you all better, going forward."

Warmth spread across Matsu's chest and face, and she pulled Minato into a tight embrace with a light giggle. "Now look at you," she said, whispering the words into his ear. "You know, Mina-tan, when you talk like that, you really get me worked up. If you hadn't reminded me of the rules I would be experimenting with you right now."

Minato's body quivered against his will. Her warm breath was tickling his ear just a bit, but he managed to control his shaking and gently returned the hug, then pulled away, still using his wry grin to keep his real feelings hidden. "Matsu-san, if you somehow manage to turn the word 'experiment' into a euphemism for sex...well, any more than you have already, I mean, Asama-san will probably lock you in your room until the end of the world. And I'm pretty sure she could find a way to make sure you stay there, 'mysteries of Izumo Inn' aside."

Matsu groaned and put her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes. "Mina-tan! Geez! You're really bad at this. There's nothing wrong with a little talk, right? You don't have to kill the mood so abruptly!"

"Think of it this way," Minato said, leaning back into his chair again with his eyes closed. "If I keep you from jumping my bones, then I keep you from starving. Pretty fair trade, right?"

Matsu simply humphed and walked off to the door, her shoulders square and nose upturned. "I suppose so," she said, stopping at the doorway to look at Minato over her shoulder. "I guess I'll just wait downstairs for you to come and teach Musubi-tan. It's one thing to see videos, and another to watch the real deal in action. I expect to be impressed, Mina-tan."

Once he was sure that she was out of earshot, Minato sighed again and stood up, walking toward his closet to get his gi. "That woman is going to really be the death of me." He shook his head, attempting to clear away the blush working its way across his face now that Matsu wasn't around. "Damned hormones."

* * *

**Monday, 8:30 AM**

**Izumo Inn**

The next morning started off fairly uneventful for Minato. As usual, he woke up with his Sekirei clinging to him, with the addition of Matsu latched onto his left leg while Musubi, Akitsu, and Kusano took his left arm, right arm, and chest respectively. As usual, Akitsu woke up as soon as Minato shifted around, and helped him pry Musubi and Matsu off of his limbs; she then held onto Kusano until Minato got up, at which point she put the smaller Sekirei down next to Musubi, bowed to Minato, and left the room.

With Miya not making an appearance at his door to threaten or punish his Sekirei, Minato went downstairs after washing up, intending on some private meditation in the garden prior to getting the day started in earnest; no one else was moving around downstairs, aside from Miya (who was nestled back in the kitchen, which he didn't go anywhere near on his way out to the backyard). He settled in the grassy backyard, legs crossing under his body, and straightened his back, gradually settling his breathing into a pattern. The birds chirped pleasantly in his ears, but failed to break his focus as his chest rose and fell, never breaking rhythm.

He went on this way for about half an hour before Miya's voice pleasantly broke into his otherwise empty thoughts. "Sahashi-san, breakfast is ready. Please, come inside to eat. Musubi-san and the others are waiting for you."

After two more reps of breathing, Minato stood up, letting out a final, slow breath before turning to the patio and seeing the barest hint of Miya's lavender hair disappearing into the hallway. His stomach grumbled slightly, and he absentmindedly patted it before heading inside behind her.

As he came into the dining room, he noticed that everyone was present, a nice change in pace since both Uzume and Kagari were normally asleep at this particular time of day. There was only one open space aside from Miya's at the table, and it sandwiched him between Kusano and Akitsu; without much preamble, Minato squatted down and settled himself on the cushion there, returning Kusano's cheerful "Good morning!" by patting her on the head and smiling. The buzz of the television off to his right, and the droning of the morning news announcer, barely registered as Miya came into the room and set down the food, splayed out artfully on platters. With a simultaneous "Itadakimasu!", the residents shared their food out, passed the platters along, and began to devour it all all in the space of a few moments.

About halfway through the meal, Kusano looked over at the TV with wide green eyes and made a small sound. Minato stopped eating and turned his head to see what she was looking at. The TV screen was displaying the arboretum, but there had been a major change since Minato had seen it last. The thick expanse of trees had withered away to a group of sad, gray husks, with spindly, bare branches reaching out to the sky.

"...though MBI refuses to elaborate on how they cleared out the overgrowth at the arboretum, they have assured officials that it will have no effect on public health or safety," the announcer said. "Though the mayor has promised a serious investigation into the matter..."

As she watched the TV, Kusano's eyes began to water, and she sniffled a few times before breaking out into a loud wail. Minato immediately stopped eating as she rammed into his side, crying into his dark brown shirt. Despite the sudden loss of breath in his lungs, Minato managed to grab Kusano gently and stroke the back of her hair. "Kuu-chan, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Shii-chan was there. Shii-chan came for me, onii-chan," she whispered. "He was there!"

Everyone else looked at the scene in front of them with confusion, but Minato paid no mind to their quizzical glances, opting to keep comforting Kusano. "Who is Shii-chan, Kuu?" Minato asked. "You have to tell me so I can understand better."

"When Kuu-chan goes out of control, Shii-chan is the one to stop me," Kusano replied, burying her face even deeper into Minato's body. "Shii-chan's power stops mine from working. That's how all of the trees went away. Shii-chan used his power. He's the only one that can do that. And if he's out there, he won't be able to stop me if I lose control again."

Minato was grateful that she was speaking so quietly and that her voice was muffled by his shirt. He may have been exempt from punishments regarding Sekirei sneaking into his room, but he didn't want to deal with a punishment for someone saying too much. "He won't have to be here," he said quietly, leaning his head next to Kusano's ear. "Because I'll be here for you no matter what. I promised I'd catch you, and I did, right? That's no different from me protecting you if your power goes out of control."

Kusano blinked at him through watering eyes, then broke into a wobbly smile and grabbed him all the tighter. "Onii-chan is always the best," she said.

"Glad to hear that you think so, Kuu-chan," Minato replied, stroking her back. "Now, you've gotta eat up. You wanna grow big and strong, right?"

Kusano detached herself from him and wiped away her tears, then smiled up at him once more before nodding. "Yes!"

Minato patted her head again as she turned back to her food and kept on eating. "That's a good girl."

Uzume, Miya, and Kagari all shared a secret smile, while Musubi and Matsu beamed broadly and Akitsu said nothing.

* * *

**9:45 AM**

Once breakfast was over, Minato and Musubi went out to the yard for morning drills. Over the last few days, Musubi had been steadily working towards mastering three techniques—the Kaoruna, the Shimaki, and the Shimaki's follow-up, the Yamase. Today, Minato was going to see if she'd managed to make enough progress to learn the first advanced technique of the Rindoukan school.

"Again!" Minato shouted.

Musubi shouted, slammed her leading foot on the ground, and punched out with her left hand.

From where he stood behind her, Minato nodded sharply, his folded arms resting comfortably against his chest. _That's the Shimaki. Perfectly executed. Now let's see what else she's got. _"Strike!"

Musubi punched with her right hand, grunting as she pushed her hips ever-so-slightly into the punch.

"Strike!" Minato shouted once more.

Musubi punched out again with her left hand, holding it straight out as she let out her last burst of breath. "CHESTO!"

She held the pose for a while longer, and then Minato nodded. "Good! Relax."

Musubi slowly stood at ease, letting her hands drop to her side and taking a few slow breaths to calm herself. As she waited, Minato went over her performance in her mind. She'd already displayed adequate mastery of the Kaoruna, and just now her focus and execution had been just about flawless for the Yamase and the Shimaki. _Dad would kill for ten of her in the dojo. Strong, willful, attentive... _He unfolded his arms and let out a light breath. _She's ready._

"Musubi-san. You did wonderfully," he said, and she turned to face him with an expectant smile on her face. "As I promised, I'll teach it to you. The first advanced technique of Rindoukan—the Rushing Justice Fist Thrust, 'Hayate'."

He dropped into his stance and took a deep breath, feeling ki flow from his stomach and out into his body. His pulse began to drum a beat in his temples, but he restrained it with a slight, soft release of the breath he'd taken in. "The Hayate acts on the principles of using ki to purposely accelerate your forward movement. Just like the Kaoruna, you have to keep everything in sync—your movement, your attack, and your breath. If you're not in sync, then you'll pretty much trip over your own feet. If you get it right, though..."

He closed his eyes, pulled back his left hand, and raised it to head level, turning the back of it to face him. He then extended his right one outward. Musubi and the onlookers, barring Kusano, recognized the pose as one that Yukari had taken during her fight with Minato.

Then, there was a rustling as Minato's feet slid on the dusty ground of the yard; in the blink of an eye, he'd moved forward and punched hard with his left hand, with a loud "CHESTO!" As his momentum came to a quick halt, he eased out of his stance, and turned to Musubi once he'd stopped moving forward completely.

To no one's surprise, Musubi was staring at him with her hands clasped together and her mouth frozen in a wide, open smile.

"You won't be so happy when you have to do a thousand reps of those," Minato said, knitting his fingers together and stretching his arms out. "Now, take your stance. Let's break it down step by step."

Musubi did as she was told, and Minato began to go over the specifics, starting with the footwork that would let Musubi move with the proper speed and force. As they did so, Matsu, sitting front and center on the porch, continued to type rapidly on the thin black tablet PC that she'd brought from her room, chuckling all the while. "Last night was child's play compared to this," she muttered. "That speed was most certainly not subsonic, but no normal person should be able to move like that. Maybe I could set up a training dummy and equip it to measure the force of Mina-tan's punches and kicks..."

"Don't turn Sahashi-chan into a science project so quick, Matsu," Uzume said. She was lying down on her stomach next to Matsu, facing Musubi and Minato while exposing her upper body to the sun. "You haven't even been his Sekirei for a full week yet."

"There are times where a scientist must put love aside for the sake of advancement in understanding!" Matsu replied, clenching a fist. "Though, sometimes, love and understanding can sort of intertwine, if you catch my meaning." She adjusted her glasses, catching the sunlight and causing them to obscure her eyes. "Ku hu hu. Hu hu hu hu~"

Homura looked at Akitsu and Kusano briefly to see what their reactions to Matsu's intentions were (after a quick check over his shoulder to make sure Miya hadn't been summoned by Matsu's raging aura of perversion). To his distinct lack of surprise, neither had noticed a word she said, being too focused on Musubi and Minato's interactions. Though Akitsu's face was impassive as usual, Homura couldn't help but notice that her posture was a bit stiff, even for her, and Kusano's cheeks were puffed out slightly.

_Sahashi, you're gonna have a real mess on your hands, _Homura thought to himself, looking back at Minato to see that he'd stepped back from Musubi. She was in her Rindoukan stance, but quickly shifted to the Hayate's preparation stance before attempting the move. The moment she tried to replicate Minato's quick footwork, she tripped and fell face-first onto the ground_. In more ways than one, too._

The buzzing of a vibrating phone broke the silence on the porch, and Uzume sat up with a grunt as she reached into her pants pocket. When she saw the caller ID, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly before she put on a smile. "Sorry, guys. Gotta take care of some errands," she said, standing up as she put her phone away. "I'll see ya later, OK?"

Matsu and Homura both looked at her, with identically thoughtful expressions, but only Matsu spoke up. "All right, Uzu-tan. Make sure you're back for dinner."

"Yeah, of course," Uzume replied, ignoring the sinking weight in her chest and stomach. "You know me."

With a halfhearted wave, she headed inside, and once she was out of their view, a white shawl slithered out of the right sleeve of her shirt, wrapping around her wrist and lower hand. "Let's get this over with," she whispered to herself, clenching a fist around the cloth.

Unbeknownst to Uzume, she wasn't as alone as she might have thought; Miya had come out of the laundry room, and had been the only one to see Uzume's departure. As the front door closed, the landlady frowned, her brows furrowed; the brief glimpse she'd gotten of Uzume's primary weapon had been enough to tell her that something was wrong.

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**Tuesday, 10 AM**

After breakfast the next morning, Miya stood up from her place at the table and smiled pleasantly at her tenants. Homura had been out late working, and was nowhere to be seen (_probably sleeping off a hangover, the poor boy,_ Miya thought), while Uzume was awake but distracted; her plate of food was still full, barely disturbed since it had been put in front of her.

"I have a favor to ask of you all today," the landlady said. "I have an appointment to attend to, and need some chores around the inn taken care of. I'll be back before the afternoon's over, so can you make sure it's all taken care of by then?

"No problem at all," Minato replied, and his Sekirei nodded their agreement. However, Uzume stayed silent. With a concerned frown, Minato addressed the matter in his usual way—directly. "Uzume-san, are you all right?"

Uzume flinched slightly, but recovered her composure and forced a smile onto her face. "'Just tired. I'm still good to help with chores, though."

Miya eyed Uzume warily, but the younger girl simply kept up her easy grin.

* * *

**11:30 AM**

Within the half-hour, Miya had departed, leaving Minato and the others to begin the cleaning. Uzume immediately whisked Kusano, Akitsu, and Musubi away somewhere, stating that they needed "proper cleaning clothes", leaving Minato to head out into the yard with the hose while Matsu stayed inside and got together everyone's laundry separated.

By the time half-past 11 rolled around, mostly all of the gardening was done, aside from the front lawn. As he swept the hose back and forth across the grass near the front door, Minato heard the distinctive clicking of boot heels coming down the sidewalk outside of the Inn's walls. He paid them no mind until he realized that they were growing louder and closer, at which point he stopped and looked toward the open gate.

A thin woman, about five foot eight inches in height, walked onto the compound. Her narrow eyes were half open, with slight bags puffing out the skin beneath them. Despite the fact that the sun was out in full force, her gray jacket, long-sleeved black shirt, black miniskirt, and black stockings caused her no apparent discomfort. Her silver hair was tied into a high ponytail that trailed far past the small of her back, and she was smiling pleasantly.

Minato noticed two things about her as soon as she approached. One was the black Sekirei crest printed on the right breast of her jacket. The other was her movement and carriage. She stepped languidly, as if she were sleepwalking, but the movements forward were deliberate and calculating, completely free of hesitation. It was less like she was actually moving slowly, and more likJe she was deliberately enforcing the illusion that she was.

The woman noticed him looking at her, and gave a vague smile as she approached, scratching her head. "This is Izumo Inn, yes?"

Despite her friendly expression and calm voice, Minato could feel sweat running down his back that had nothing to do with the heat. The smile seemed perfectly normal, but her body language was still presenting itself as lazy yet direct, and the contrast was distractingly disturbing. "It is. Are you looking for Miya Asama by any chance?"

The woman shook her head and yawned. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, actually. Her name's Musubi."

Minato nodded, continuing to ignore that _wrongness_ that he felt from the stranger. It was vaguely reminiscent of standing in front of a 'wide-smile' Miya, but this woman's attitude projected something wholly different from Miya's indignant aura. "Well, if you'll give me a second, I can try to find her for you. Um, can I get your name, please?"

"Karasuba," the woman replied.

Right as Minato was about put down the hose to go inside, the lady in question came out of the house with Akitsu and Uzume in tow. Minato's two Sekirei were both dressed in matching french maid outfits, down to the skirts, stockings, and frilled hairbands, but their reactions to Karasuba couldn't have been any more different. Akitsu stiffened and began to shrink back toward the door, but stopped midway, while Musubi eagerly trotted over to Karasuba with a huge smile on her face; Uzume froze in place for a moment herself, but managed to force her body into a false state of idle relaxation.

_Akitsu-san...is afraid of this woman,_ Minato thought. _And Uzume recognized her as well. What's going on here?_

"Karasuba-sama! How are you?" Musubi asked cheerfully, hugging the taller woman.

"The same as always, Muu-chan," Karasuba replied, and for a moment, Minato could see something else in her eyes besides sleepy amusement.

If he had a word for it, it would be hunger.

Karasuba then directed that look towards him, and the smile on her face became _sharp_ before she turned her attention back to Musubi. "I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing." She then patted Musubi's head, ruffling the hair beneath her hand. "I'd heard that this is where you'd wound up. I just wanted to make sure things were all right with you."

Musubi nodded as she stepped back from the hug she'd wrapped Karasuba in. "I'm fine! I have the best Ashikabi in the world!" She reached out to Minato and drew him into a one-armed embrace; he had to twist his wrist slightly to avoid splashing anyone with the hose. "Minato-sama is brave and strong and super reliable. He's even taught me about how I can fight better! He's everything that Yume-sama said an Ashikabi would be!"

Karasuba arched an eyebrow, but failed to look even a little bit surprised; in fact, she spared Minato yet another glance, and Minato felt as if she were newly appraising a piece of meat she wanted to cut up for dinner. "So you found your Ashikabi, huh? Good to hear. I got one myself, not too long ago." Musubi squealed in delight, and Karasuba's smile widened. "Yes, yes, I gave in. But I still want you to keep the promise, Muu-chan."

The hose began to shake slightly in Minato's hands, but he took a quiet breath as he turned the nozzle to stop the flow of water. _So she's a Sekirei. A strong one, or at least one with a reputation, considering how Akitsu-san reacted. But what promise would she have made with Musubi?_

"Of course I'll keep it, Karasuba-sama!" Musubi replied. "That battlefield...the battlefield of the last Sekirei in the Sekirei Plan. I'll meet you there! Definitely! Minato-sama and the others will be there to cheer me on!" She clenched her free hand into a fist and grinned. "And by then, I'll be really strong. So you'll have to fight your hardest!"

"Looking forward to it, Muu-chan." Karasuba then looked over at Minato and smiled again. "Minato, was it? I expect that you'll take good care of the little one, yes?"

The _sharpness _returned to her eyes, and Minato fought every urge to run off with Musubi slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Of course. You can count on that."

Karasuba nodded almost sleepily, and the _sharpness_ vanished as she nearly closed her eyes with her widening display of teeth. "Good, good. Sometime you'll have to show me what you taught Muu-chan. I've heard little bits and pieces from your mother about her little karate boy, but it's one thing to hear about it and another thing to see it."

The mere idea that Takami knew Karasuba, let alone that Takami had spoken to Karasuba about him, made Minato shiver. Nevertheless, he kept his manners in mind."Perhaps some other time. We've still got chores to do, unfortunately..."

"I've got to be on my way regardless, so it's not an issue," Karasuba said, turning slowly on her heel. "It was good to meet you, Min-chan. Take care of Muu-chan, now."

With that, Karasuba walked off, humming quietly to herself. Minato didn't say a word until he was absolutely positive she was out of earshot, then turned to Musubi, Akitsu and Uzume. "Now, who was that exactly? You all had such different reactions that I didn't know what the hell to think. And this isn't going into the fact that she was eying me like she wanted to eat me alive."'

Akitsu made a non-committed grunt, while Musubi simply blinked. It was Uzume that answered the question for him, her voice flat. "She's the Black Sekirei, the Dog of MBI. Number 04, Karasuba." She chuckled dryly. "Wonder how the hell she knew that Miya was gonna be gone today, though. Karasuba wouldn't have dared showed up if that wasn't the case."

Minato frowned at her understanding and gave her a skeptical glance. "So then, Uzume-san, you're..."

"A Sekirei, yeah," Uzume said, her ponytail wagging as she stretched. "Didn't want you to find out like this, bro. Was planning on telling you sometime, but, well." She shrugged her shoulders and stared at the gate with an annoyed huff. "Damn Karasuba. She wrecks everything."

Minato crossed his arms and stared flatly at Uzume. "So what's her deal? You're not answering the question." He then turned his attention to Musubi and Akitsu again. "None of you are."

"She's an animal," Akitsu whispered, lowering her eyes. "Bloodthirsty. Hateful. Dangerous. No one fights her and makes it out unscathed."

"She's not that bad," Musubi said with a frown. "Karasuba-sama is a bit misguided about some things, yes, but not nearly as monstrous as you think she is."

Akitsu's eyes narrowed. "She wants you to believe that she's innocent," she said."You're too naïve."

Musubi matched Akitsu's glare eye-for-eye, but before the potential confrontation could break out, Minato stepped between them, staring between their faces with deliberate calm. One hand was placed on each girl's shoulder. "Both of you, stop it."

Musubi's shoulders slumped. "But, Minato-sama! Akitsu-san is...!"

Minato shook his head to refute her unspoken point; Musubi's lip quivered, and he sighed. "If you have a good relationship with Karasuba-san, then that's between you and her. Unless your friendship with her puts you in danger, then I won't interfere." He gave a small, honest smile, and Musubi's pout gradually shrank. With that done, Minato looked to Akitsu next. "Thank you for being honest, Akitsu-san. But you have to try avoiding getting into arguments with the others. There are better ways to make your point than saying something that will cause trouble."

"Yes, Minato-sama," she replied, bowing her head.

The argument settled, Minato released his Sekirei, squeezing their shoulders gently before he did. "So, we understand each other? Good." He then focused on Uzume again, folding his arms. "Uzume-san, I don't mean to be rude, but...can we trust you?"

Uzume scratched her cheek and yawned, smiling placidly. "What, you mean not trying anything funny? Yeah, of course you can trust me. I don't really care about the Plan myself to start with, and even if I did Miya's rule is law around here. I start a fight, she'll finish it." She grimaced. "And make it hurt to boot. That woman hits hard, even if she's..." She looked up at the sky, as if she were looking for the right words to say.

Minato wondered briefly why Uzume didn't just say that Miya was human, but before he could ask, the rasp of sandals on the sidewalk brought his attention back to the front gate. Moments later, Miya walked through, approaching the inn, but something was off. Though she was smiling, a shadow seemed to pass across her forehead and the corners of her mouth might have been pulled a little too far out. Minato immediately swallowed a lump in his throat as the landlady came directly to him.

"Hello, Sahashi-san, Uzume-san, Akitsu-san, Musubi-san," Miya said. "How are the chores coming along?"

"I just finished watering the yard," Minato replied, proud that he didn't stutter under the weight of Miya's growing aura. "The girls were cleaning up inside, and I think Matsu-san is doing—"

"She's done already," Uzume whispered from behind his back, trying to avoid eye contact with Miya.

Minato cleared his throat. "—that is, Matsu-san's done with the laundry."

"I see." The smile inched out a bit more. "Did we have a guest by any chance?"

Slowly, Minato nodded. "A Sekirei named Karasuba. She was visiting Musubi for a little while."

"So I was correct," Miya said, putting a hand on her cheek and sighing. Despite the benign expression, the dark cloud began to spill out of her body, with the demon mask peeking out over her shoulder. "Sahashi-san. Please don't allow that woman to set foot on this property ever again. And if she becomes...dangerous when you tell her that she isn't welcome, just let her know that I was the one to prohibit her, and that I will know if she decides to violate that rule."

Minato nodded once, cursing his trembling body. He trusted Miya and didn't like to show fear around her when she wasn't directly intimidating him. "Yes, ma'am."

And, just like that, Miya returned to normal, the cloud vanishing and the _smile_ receding. "Thank you, Sahashi-san." The front door opened before she could continue to speak, and when everyone turned to see who had come out of the Inn, they saw Kusano dressed up in a plump, plushy wagtail outfit, smiling cutely as she tilted her head to the side.

"Hey, Onii-chan, look at what Uzu-chan gave me to wear~" she said, clapping her hands together as best she could. "Don't I look super-cute?"

Minato returned Kusano's cheerful expression with a smile of his own and patted her head. "You look adorable, Kuu-chan." He gave Uzume a curious glance. "I didn't know you were into costume collection, Uzume-san. Did you give Musubi and Akitsu their outfits?"

Uzume scratched her head again. "Yeah. It's a hobby of mine." She grinned. "You like 'em?"

Rather than directly answer that question in front of Miya (especially considering that the maid outfits in question had really short skirts, for one) Minato rolled his eyes. "Maybe."

Uzume's response to that was to laugh and head back inside, saying something to herself about "total denial" under her breath. Minato arched an eyebrow at that, but let that train of thought go when Musubi gently pulled on his sleeve. When he turned to face her, he saw something that disturbed him to no end; Musubi was still _frowning, _albeit wistfully.

"Minato-sama, can we talk inside, please?" she asked, her head lowered slightly.

The young man nodded. "Sure."

Once they were inside, Minato and Musubi headed straight for Minato's room and closed the door. The moment he did, Musubi drew up to him and grasped his hands with hers, placing them right on her heart. "I made two promises, long ago," she said. "I know you heard about one of them out there, when I reminded Karasuba-sama about what it was. The other promise is even older than that. It's the promise I made to help all Sekirei find their Ashikabi. So that they could experience this warmth, this love, and live happily."

Minato remembered her talking about it once before, and nodded. "When we met Akitsu-san, you talked about that a little bit. But what does that have to do with Karasuba-san?"

Musubi folded her arms beneath her bust, releasing his hands. "I said all Sekirei, right, Minato-sama? That includes her. Even if she's found an Ashikabi, I know that she still doesn't understand what it really means. That's why I made that promise with her, to fight till the end so that she and I could face off. I know that when I face her there, she'll listen to me when I win."

After a few moments of purse-lipped silence, Minato sighed. "It won't be as simple as you think, Musubi-san."

She tilted her head and stared curiously at him. "Huh? Why's that? Karasuba-sama promised me she would listen. She wouldn't break a promise that easily."

"That isn't what I meant," Minato said, rubbing his temples as he reconsidered his argument. "'I won, so she has to listen to me. I'm strong enough to beat her, so I'm right.' That's the basic reasoning you're working with." Seeing that her eyes were focused on him, he folded his arms and gave her his best stern glare. "That isn't an ideal that I will allow any student of mine to go into the world with. It's naïve, and more importantly, that's the way a bully thinks. Might makes misery when you use it that way."

"Then how am I supposed to show Karasuba-sama the right way to treat her Ashikabi?" Musubi asked, her shoulders slumping. "The right way to show her love for other people? She's like a child when it comes to this, thinking that her way is the right way when it isn't—but she won't just listen to words. She wants proof. So I want to show her that proof by using my bond with you, Minato-sama. If I can beat her with your power and support, then...she'll see it." She nodded once, her fists clenched and her face stone neutral. "She'll understand!"

"She may understand, but she won't _accept,_" Minato said. "Not unless she wants to. When a fight is over, the loser is left with a lot of things to bear. And sometimes that doesn't leave space in their minds for lessons. If you want Karasuba-san to understand what you want to teach her, then you have to understand that you can't force her to do it. She has to want to change her way of thinking, and if she doesn't want to, then there's nothing you can do."

At first, Musubi seemed lost for words, but she eventually ducked her head, and Minato could see her body shake. "Does that mean I can't do it, Minato-sama?" she whispered. "If I can't show her by beating her and I can't show her by talking to her, doesn't that mean it's impossible to keep my promise?"

Minato watched her silently struggle for a moment, cursing himself for how cruelly he'd had to dismiss her ideals, before he went with his gut instinct and wrapped her in a gentle hug. "Musubi, I never said that it was impossible," he replied, and she gasped at the omission of _san_ from her name. "I'm not trying to tell you not to fight Karasuba-san. I'm not trying to tell you that what you want to teach her is wrong either. What I want you to understand is that even if you beat her, she may not do what you want her to do, and you'll have to accept that possibility." He squeezed her closer. "She is her own person just as much as I am or you are. As long as you know that, and fight her with that understanding, you will win, and show her exactly what you want her to see."

Musubi nodded, and buried herself deeper into Minato's body. "I will, Minato. I promise, I will! I'll make sure of it. All the Sekirei in the world, winners and losers, will see it, and they'll know..." She pulled back just enough for him to see her tearful, smiling face. "When I free those that lost their Ashikabi, their bonds will be rebuilt even stronger because they'll know what those bonds can do!"

"So that's what you want to do when everything is said and done," Minato said. "You're going to give the Sekirei that lost their Ashikabi back? Sounds like a good plan." He grinned and ruffled Musubi's hair. "Then again, knowing you, it doesn't surprise me."

Outside of the room, Matsu sighed as she set down a basket full of Minato's clean linen, fresh from the laundry room, to the side of his door. Laundry had been a good activity to get her away from the computer, but with her tablet synched to her main work station, she'd been able to see through her cameras and observe the exterior of the inn, which had let her be privy to the entire conversation between Karasuba sand the others.

"That Karasuba...what was she here for?" Matsu muttered, adjusting her glasses as she turned towards the patio. "Did she figure out that I was here? Will she be back?"

"I doubt that she will," Miya's voice replied from down the hall, and Matsu looked up just in time to see the landlady rounding the corner near the stairs. "She knows that I'd make her suffer if she dared try it again. You'll be fine, Matsu-san."

"With Miya-tan looking out for me, that's obvious," Matsu replied, walking away from Minato's door to approach Miya. "Still, Matsu wonders how Karasuba knew that you'd be going to Takehito-tan's grave today. If MBI finds out that Matsu's here..."

The landlady smiled in that particular way, though thankfully none of the other enhancements came along with it. "Then MBI will have to deal with me in order to get to you, and I'm fairly certain that my not-unearned reputation as the Hannya of the North will remind them to stay right where they are." The smile soon faded as her eyes tightened slightly. "Matsu. I've been watching Homura lately. He's not doing so well. His flame was irregular when he tried to light a cigarette and he was scratching his chest."

Miya's direct form of addressing her, and especially the use of "Kagari"'s real name was more than enough for Matsu to get serious as well, brushing a strand of auburn hair out of her face as she replied to Miya. "I can't make Homura's medicine that much stronger. He's already developed a strong tolerance to what I've been giving him. If I increase the dosage and he adapts to it, then there's nothing that can be done. Worse yet, if he doesn't adapt to it, he'll start to get ill." She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "He needs to find an Ashikabi as soon as he can. That's probably the only way he'll become stable."

"But his duties as Sekirei Guardian come first and foremost to him," Miya said, shaking her head. "He won't leave those behind just for his own sake. Which I admire, but...the fact of the matter is that it'll start to impair his performance soon." The furrow in her brow vanished as her frown took on a sadder tone. "Talk to him, please. I'm seriously worried about him."

Matsu saluted, but the levity she would have normally used in such an action was absent. "I understand. You can count on me, Miya."

Miya allowed herself a small smile at the sight, but her expression was clearly wistful. "It's been a while since I've seen that kind of seriousness. But there's no need. This isn't an order, it's a favor."

Matsu relaxed slightly, and returned the smile. "Then," she said, "Matsu will do her best, Miya-tan. That stubborn Homu-tan will learn one way or another."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Between work and an internet outage I was kept a bit too busy to get this out on schedule, and I'm sorry about that. I'm about to get a bit more busy IRL, but I intend to stay on track with updates as best I can. Chapter 9 is coming along nicely, I just haven't had time to really get to the meat of it yet.__  
_

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_Review Response:_

_As usual, I thank all of you for reading and reviewing. I've hit the 50-review mark as well, so that's excited me even more._

_Drac-frst: Miya got upset because Minato was keeping secrets under her roof. Her anger isn't really supposed to be justified or anything, but Minato, being who he is, already felt bad about lying by omission to her. However, he would have kept the secret if he didn't think he could trust her with it; his guilt, combined with the fact that he did feel like he could trust her, is why he talked. __I'm trying not to spell out everything because that tends to make me lapse into telling over showing in the story, which is a habit I'm trying very hard to break._

_Thanathos: I reference both the anime and the manga. The timeline of events in the story closely follows the anime, but some plot points reference the manga directly; I will make no statements as to which path will be "followed" in the end. As for what will happen when the shoe of "where's Masaru" drops...well, that will be dealt with when the time comes. As for updates, I will usually publish a chapter every two weeks, on Fridays if possible, and within 48 hours otherwise (like I did with this chapter, which was due 8/17 but is coming out on 8/19)._

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_Chapter 8 will be out between September 7th and September 9th. With any luck, I can start getting a buffer built up again so that updates will stay punctual; it's just a matter of balancing out my schedule a bit more._

_Read and enjoy; I'll see you all then._

_~ZS_


	8. The Other Bellflower

_**Wakayama, Japan: Sahashi Residence**_

_**2014**_

_**Sunday, 3 PM**_

_Two years ago, Yukari would never have believed that her brother would become the fighter standing in front of her now. Back then, he'd been slow and wimpy, a crybaby that couldn't keep up with her power and her offense. She'd run him over by backing him into a corner and wailing on him before he could even mount a defense. Every weekend, without fail, she could overwhelm his defenses and shatter him, winning again and again and again._

_That Minato was gone now._

_Right now, the Minato in front of her was dressed in his gi, facing her without fear, and in the grassy practice field near their house, in the very place where for the last few years, she had been beating him, he was now beating her. If a blow could be evaded, he would evade it. If he had to block, he would push her blows aside instead. If she was open, he would hit her. And if she was not, he would press her until she was. It was like fighting a less reckless version of herself, she realized. Where she was aggressive, he was passive. But as a result, he took his counterattacks even more seriously than she did, and used those moments to press his advantage._

_She wasn't used to that, and it threw her off._

_With a fierce shout, Yukari slammed her foot down and thrust a straight punch at him, expelling a breath for maximum force. Minato used the back of his forearm to parry it, pushed it aside, and chopped her open ribcage with his other hand, forcing her back. He then pulled that hand back, curled it into a fist, and unleashed a Hayate, sliding across the grass as if it were ice, to punch his sister square in the sternum._

_Despite her best effort, her feet could find no purchase on the ground, and she flew, spinning lazily until she hit the grass with the upper part of her back. While she was down, she heard him dash-step forward, roaring out another battle cry. With a curse, she rolled to the side, barely avoiding the overhead Oroshi chop that Minato laid into the ground where she'd been lying down. Twisting her body so that her front was facing Minato, she used a breath to burst ki through her arms, giving her the strength to push up and land in a crouch. Minato was just pulling his hand from the dirt, and beginning to stand after his Oroshi, so she lashed out with a sweeping kick, hoping that it would tag him and fling him off balance. Instead, he reached low with the same hand that he'd chopped with, grabbed her by the ankle, and pulled her in._

_The last thing she remembered seeing before she blacked out was his other hand flying right at her face._

* * *

_When she woke up again, she was lying flat on her back, with her father and her brother hovering over her and her face burning like it was caught in a furnace. Masaru's expression was apologetic, but only for a brief moment; then, it flickered back to neutrality. "Sorry, Yucchi. Ya lost."_

_She said nothing for a while, then cracked a smile."I'm not dumb, Dad. I know why my face is hurting and it's not because I tripped and fell on a rock." After another moment, she added, "Good job, nii-chan. Looks like I'm the loser now."_

"_Yukari, I'm sorry," Minato said, and he let off a quiet sniffle. _

_It really and truly sounded like he was about to cry, and just hearing her brother start to tear up sparked frustration and anger in Yukari's heart. There was no way he was gonna spoil his own victory by bawling his eyes out. She didn't like losing, but it was what it was. "Don't cry, dummy!" she shouted. "You beat me! It's over and done with! Be proud of yourself. There's nothing wrong with winning fair and square, and there's nothing wrong with losing fair and square either!" She looked over at her father as she sat up."Right, Dad?"_

_Masaru smiled sadly. "That's right."_

_Minato's next words were gentle. "But you're crying."_

_Yukari paused for a moment, and then slapped her forearm over her eyes, managing to keep her smile, even as, just like Minato said, the warm tracks of tears slid down her cheeks. "I just got some dirt in my eyes," she said, scrubbing her arm across her eyes to sell the lie. "I'm fine." Her smile became crooked. "Just fine."_

_'Next time, nii-chan,' she thought to herself. 'You got me for once, but next time...next time, I won't lose.' _

_Masaru put a gentle hand on her back, and she stiffened for a moment before relaxing, though she couldn't stop herself from lowering her head and moving her arm away from her face to reveal the truth. _

"_Goin' home, kids. C'mon."_

_That was the first time Yukari lost to her big brother. It wouldn't be the last, either. But, she realized later, it was important that she had lost. If nii-chan had beaten her, then that meant next time she would have to work harder and return the favor._

_It meant that she wasn't the strongest she could be yet._

* * *

_**~Petal 8: The Other Bellflower~**_

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**Shintou Teitou, Japan**

**2020**

**Wednesday, 11:30 AM**

Yukari Sahashi had to admit that for all the glitter and fanciness of the high-rise buildings, Shintou Teitou wasn't as overwhelming as she'd been expecting. She'd moved in and settled down in an apartment complex in the eastern part of the city, not too long after Minato had moved into Izumo Inn, but since Minato had already been in the city since last year, his adjustment period was over and done with, while hers was still ongoing. Based on the stories that her grandmother and her brother had been telling her, she was expecting to be completely out of her element with the subways and the trains and the oddly numbered streets, but with a little bit of patience and luck she was navigating without much trouble.

One thing that hadn't been too much of an exaggeration was the number of perverts that seemed to flock around public transportation. At just around five feet and three inches, and barely 125 pounds soaking wet, Yukari was right around the average size of a Japanese woman, making her look even smaller next to her six-foot brother. On top of that, puberty had hit her with the beauty stick, giving her face a smoother structure than Minato's, and her mother's, not to mention a cute smile to go along with her well-toned and moderately curved body. Unfortunately, those two factors worked in tandem to keep a lot of male attention on her, and more than once she'd had to catch and sprain a few wrists when some of them got too grabby.

On Wednesday morning, she'd slept in a bit, albeit unintentionally. After finally getting out of bed, she'd cleaned up, put on a black skirt, matching boots, and a white button-down T-shirt, then headed out on her morning walk, though she was an hour or so behind. She had yet to really explore the city center, so she planned to get the lay of the land there, then head to the park and get some practice done before going to Izumo Inn to visit her brother. She'd been working on modulating the strength of her punches and kicks, determined to avoid scaring Minato's precious girlfriend and nice housemates next time, but she wasn't ready to test herself yet, not by a long shot.

As Yukari hummed a short song and walked down the sidewalk, silver cross on her black choker gleaming in the sunlight, she wove through a crowd of pedestrians with nonchalant sidesteps and looked around at the numerous shops and buildings, impressed by the shininess of the skyscrapers and the way that the tinted windows reflected and warped everything nearby. She came out of her reverie when she came to a large, empty plaza in front of an office building, just in front of a crosswalk. As she got ready to cross the street, the walk sign switched over to 'do not walk'; she sighed and put her hands on her hips, shifting her brown belt slightly.

"Well, at least it's not hot out today," she muttered, scratching her head. Her sulk was interrupted when she heard footsteps drawing closer to her, and moving rapidly; out of reflex, she looked to her left, the source of the sound, and saw a young boy with silvery hair running in her direction. He wore a cream-colored, long-sleeved shirt; it was trimmed with black, with a black string tied in a bow a few inches below his collar. Above his pair of short pants that matched his shirt color, he wore a black apron of sorts, complete with attached chain loops, and he was wearing what appeared to be a small black backpack.

Yukari only got as far as looking at his face and gray eyes before her brain was overridden by one thought—"_super-freaking hot guy!" _

This was more than enough to stop her from stopping his mad dash, causing him to knock her to the ground.

While Yukari sat flat on her ass, staring with a goofy smile at absolutely nothing in particular, the boy got up almost immediately and walked over to her, extending his hand. "I'm so sorry, miss, I didn't mean to knock you down. Are you all right?"

After a second, Yukari cleared her head by violently shaking it back and forth, then took his hand and let him pull her up. The moment they made contact, a blazing warmth seeped into her hand and down her arm, and even once she was on her feet and let go, she still felt it. _What was that about? _she wondered, then blinked as she looked at the boy again, bending her neck slightly since he was a little shorter than her. His face was flushed bright as a tomato, and he was looking away from her, the perfect picture of either shyness or fear.

"I'm fine, thanks," she said, brushing off her skirt and putting a bit of space between them. "Where were you off to in such a hurry anyway?"

The boy bit his lip and looked to one side, but before he could even start to answer, a woman's voice yelled from behind him, "You're not getting away that easily, little boy!"

Yukari immediately looked over the boy's head to see a blonde girl with twin pig tails and black stockings walk towards them, stopping when she was about two or three feet away from them. She was wearing a black dress with a thick, vertical yellow stripe running down the middle on both front and back, a black choker with frilled ends, and similarly frilled gloves. She had a whip coiled up in her left hand, which she let unfurl as she leered at the boy. "Be a good little brat and come along," she said, cracking the whip idly in the air. "Mikogami-sama is waiting for you."

"Then this Mikogami asshole can keep on waiting!" Yukari snapped, stepping in front of the boy and gently pushing him behind her. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm not gonna let you hurt a single hair on this boy's head!"

The boy blushed again for a moment, but quickly composed himself, staring at the blonde with concern and slight fear. "Miss, please. Just run. She's really dangerous."

Idly, the blonde cracked her whip again, but this time, struck the ground directly in front of her, cracking the concrete with almost no effort. Yukari arched a dark eyebrow, then slowly let a dangerous grin creep across her face. "So am I."

Sighing, the blonde extended her left arm and flicked her wrist in Yukari's direction, as lazily as if she were casting a fishing rod. Despite that, the whip flew through the air with fairly shocking speed; the boy gasped, but Yukari simply took a breath and _moved, _ducking low and breaking into a hop. Sure enough, the whip cracked just an inch or so from where the right side of her face would have been if she was still standing still, and the blonde was still wide open when Yukari crossed the distance between them before the whip was even halfway back to where it belonged.

_Your weapon's got good range, but take that away and you're almost completely helpless!_ Yukari thought, and with that, she moved into a standing position, touched down on the balls of her feet, and smacked the blonde in the face with a wild uppercut (not at all proper form, but there wasn't much she could do from a position like that).

The blonde had just enough time to blink before she went flying through the air, sailing a good foot away before hitting the ground with a loud thump. Yukari shook out the hand that she'd hit with, and began to walk over to the boy, who was staring at her and gaping like a fish. "You know what, why don't we go somewhere more private, get some lunch, or something," she said with a smile. "Then we'll talk."

"Um, sure, but...she's not knocked out yet," the boy said, pointing a shaking finger at the blonde, who was twitching on the ground. Though Yukari managed to keep the surprise off of her face, she frowned and slipped into her Rindoukan stance, then turned back around and closed the distance with a quick long step. By the time the blonde sat up, rubbing her sore cheek with a dark scowl on her face, Yukari was already hovering over her, drawing her right fist back.

"Go to sleep already," Yukari said, grinning once again, and the blonde gripped her whip for some kind of attack—but the chance never came, as Yukari swiftly bore down with her right hand, punching the blonde in the stomach with a powerful yell. The blonde's eyes widened momentarily before she let her head loll back and her body slacken. After the blow, Yukari stood, watching to see if the girl would make any other movements aside from breathing; when she did not, Yukari nodded once and walked away, motioning for the boy to follow her as she moved past him. He blushed for a moment, then complied immediately.

From a nearby rooftop, a figure clad in a flowing black robe, none other than Homura, watched all of this with his arms folded over his chest. He'd been tracking the girl with the whip since she'd started chasing down the boy, but hadn't managed to catch up until now, and by the time he'd been preparing to intercede, Yukari had stepped in (rather explosively, let it be said). Once Yukari and the boy were sufficiently removed from the scene, he hopped down, causing his cloak to billow behind him as he fell, then walked over to Yukari's opponent and turned the unconscious girl onto her back, pulling down her shirt to get a look at her shoulder blades. Without a single speck of change, let alone a slight sign of fading, there lay a Sekirei mark.

"Well, at least that mystery is cleared up," Homura murmured to himself. "As strong as their martial arts are, 'ki' or no 'ki', she at least doesn't have the ability to terminate Sekirei, and she's the more physically powerful of the two of them from what Sahashi said the other day." When he pulled her shirt back to where it belonged, she stirred, and Homura stood back, allowing her to rise. However, he lit a fire in his palm and hid it behind his back, just in case.

"Oww," the girl muttered, unable to decide if she should rub her stomach or her face first. "That girl couldn't have been a Sekirei, she's wasn't strong enough. But, that still left me senseless for a minute. How the hell did she hit me so hard?" She then noticed Homura standing there, and jumped to her feet, reflexively lashing her whip and breaking another section of concrete off to her side. "You! I've heard about you, 'Sekirei Guardian'. What do you want?"

"Nothing in particular," Homura said, shrugging. "I just noticed that you seemed to be taking a nap on the nice, soft concrete and decided to make sure you were all right."

"Don't play coy with me," the Sekirei replied, frowning darkly as she readied her whip for another strike. "Were you following me because I was after that shrimp?"

Homura decided to quit playing, and let his hidden hand drop to his side; the flame responded to his intention and wreathed his arm in fire. "Well, no, but if you're talking about hunting down a Sekirei that might or might not be winged, then I might need to address something with you. If you're talking about the human that he left with, then it's technically not my business but I might intercede anyway." He allowed himself a cool smile underneath his mask, but internally, began to worry as the fire began to crawl up to his shoulder, no matter how much he mentally ordered it to stop. His flame seemed a bit...jittery, to put it mildly.

The Sekirei watched him and his burning appendage for a moment longer, then snarled and shook her head before leaping away, unwilling to call his bluff. She'd heard plenty of rumors about the Sekirei Guardian while hunting down Sekirei for Mikogami, and wasn't going to pick a fight with him even if she would've been rewarded for capturing him—especially since she was alone and likely to take a beating.

As she retreated, Homura allowed his cool facade to fall and began shaking his arm with grunted curses, trying to concentrate on forcing the flame to recede. His clothing wouldn't burn, it was specially made to deal with that problem—but it would only hold up to a point. If the fire got more intense _and_ spread farther than it had already, it wouldn't withstand the heat as he burned to death. "Self cremation would be...a pretty crappy way to go," he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut as fires began to flare out of his back. "What the hell is going on with me, damn it! The fire shouldn't be this hard to control...!" He looked down and opened his eyes again when he started to hear a bubbling sound, and his eyes widened. His feet had set themselves alight as well, and were causing the concrete to start melting.

_This really might be it for me... But I still have so much to do, I..._ He tried to move, but instead, fell on his back, unable to will his muscles into action; all of his power had unwillingly gone into feeding the fire.

Then, a few cold drops of water fell on his face before an entire deluge washed over him from above, putting him out. He let his eyes close again and let out a dry chuckle as the clacking of boot heels drew closer to him. "As expected from number 09... Thank you, Tsukiumi."

His savior looked down on him with her hard blue eyes, arms folded and her curled, blonde locks flowing backward in the wind with her coat. It also exposed her underwear yet again, but Homura didn't have the energy to tease her about it, since his body was growing sorer by the second. He might have been partially scalded by his own fire, thanks to its sheer intensity; Sekirei or not, his skin wasn't nearly as tough as his clothes when it came to flames that could melt concrete. "It would be unseemly to let my erstwhile rival immolate himself on a sidewalk in plain sight of whoever would come by and see him," she replied. "Though, I do wonder why said rival would be doing such a foolish thing."

"Wasn't deliberate," he said slowly, getting up and checking his pocket to see if his phone had melted; he let off a quiet sigh when he pulled it out unharmed, then put it away again to face Tsukiumi directly. "To put it simply, my body is defective. I might have a lot of power to use, but when it comes to the question of whether or not I can use it properly all of the time, that—" he pointed to the melted concrete, and then gestured at his still steaming body, hiding a wince as PAIN shot through every single muscle—"is the answer."

Tsukiumi stared down at the melted spot without speaking, then nodded and turned around, sweeping her dress out behind her. "Well, as you are my rival, I am certain you will find a solution. In the past you have always overcome difficulty, and continued to watch over those of us that are not winged; I see this as no different. Given the proper method of thinking, I am positive you can find success."

The backhanded show of confidence in him made Homura smile slightly, but instead of acknowledging it out loud, he simply nodded. Even as haughty as she was, Tsukiumi was at heart a kind person. It felt good to be worried about, even if only a little bit (and even if the only person worrying, at least to his knowledge, was Tsukiumi, of all people). Before she walked out of earshot, though, Tsukiumi stopped, keeping her rigid posture and facing away from him still.

"Though, I must confess. Of late, I too have been feeling strange. There is a warmth spreading in my chest, and a blush o'ertaking my face at the oddest times. I suspect I—" Tsukiumi paused for a moment, and shook her head, not liking the implication she was making. "...that is to say, _my body_, is reacting to one who would claim to be my Ashikabi." Her body trembled for a moment, but she forced it to stop with a burst of wordless iron will; her hands clenched around her upper arms. "When next we meet, Homura, I will have wiped that scum from this earth. And know this: in the same vein that you intend to watch over all un-winged Sekirei, I shall not submit to an Ashikabi so long as I draw breath. Thus, to keep your vow as protector, you must remain alive to watch over me until the end of this competition, at which time I shall emerge as the victor. When your will grows weak, remember this promise and endure."

With that, Tsukiumi leaped upward, aiming for a nearby rooftop. Homura watched her go, his face set in a neutral line, then took a short breath to compose himself before making his way back to Izumo Inn, limping due to the soreness of his feet from the burns. He'd need to see Matsu about some more medicine to stabilize his control, and then get his burns wrapped and treated before they got infected. _Still, as stupidly stubborn as you are, Tsukiumi... _He let a smile onto his face, looking up into the sky._ I guess if you're so determined to stay un-winged, I'll have to stick around, just like you said._

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Yukari Sahashi's Apartment**

**Noon**

Yukari wasted no time in getting the mysterious boy back to her apartment; that whip girl shouldn't have gotten up after the second punch, but considering that the first one had appeared to be a mild nuisance at worst, Yukari didn't want to risk being anywhere close to her when she came to. It wasn't too eventful to walk back, though Yukari kept throwing glances around to make sure they weren't being stalked.

Once they got to her building, caught the elevator back to her floor, and got into her room, Yukari finally let herself relax, sighing as she kicked off her shoes and changed them out for a pair of house slippers in a small cubby near the front door. When the boy hesitated, standing on the tiled part of the entryway, she looked at him curiously, then shifted her gaze down at his black boots. "Oh right. Just take them off and leave them there. You've got on socks underneath, right? It'll be fine."

The boy nodded hesitantly and slid his feet out from the shoes, revealing white socks, then followed Yukari as she strode into the apartment proper. Unlike her brother's old room, her complex was cleanly segregated into a bedroom, and a somewhat serviceable kitchen that was placed a few feet down from the door, with a small bathroom in her room. The flooring, aside from the small square of tile at the entrance, was completely wooden. Though the boy looked around in slight wonder, he had little time to take in the sights, as Yukari hustled him into her bedroom and closed the door, then sat on the small carpet she'd laid out beneath the squat table where she ate her meals. Hesitantly, he sat down in front of her, on the opposite side of the table.

"OK, so let's try this again." she said, leaning back slightly with a tired sigh. "I'm Yukari. Yukari Sahashi. What's your name and what's your story? Judging by how freaked you looked when you were running down the street, I don't imagine that crazy chicks with bullwhips chase you around often."

The boy blushed again, but managed to say, "My name is Shiina. And, well...that girl..." He scratched his chin and looked down, and the expression on his face was so melancholic that Yukari could taste the sadness in the air. "It's really complicated. If I tell you everything, then you might have to make a really big decision really quickly, and I don't know if you'll like what you hear."

"I won't know until you tell me," Yukari replied, looking at him with a flat expression on her face. "So tell me."

Shiina finally met her eyes again, seeing that her eyes were still focused on him, waiting for an explanation. He felt his body flush with warmth again, and nodded; he made a note of the feeling he'd just experienced. It kept happening whenever he made eye contact with her. It had to be a reaction to an Ashikabi.

_That means everything is riding on what I tell her. And I have to tell her the truth._

He took a quiet breath and offered up a prayer, then spoke. "To put it simply, I'm not human. Me, and the girl from before, are from a race of aliens called Sekirei. There are 108 of us in total and we are all scattered across the city as part of the Sekirei Plan, looking for our eternal, destined partners, the Ashikabi. When we kiss or make similar...exchange of bodily fluids..." He flushed again as Yukari raised an eyebrow, but this time he was more embarrassed than anything else. "...we become 'winged' and gain access to our full power. Eventually, the Sekirei will have to battle, and the last one standing will obtain the prize waiting for them in the higher sky."

At this point, Yukari's eyebrow dropped back down, but she didn't seem fazed by anything Shiina had said. Her eyes were definitely attentive to his body language, though; he could see that much by how they subtly moved up and down his frame. Taking her silence as a lack of objection to his story, he continued. "MBI is financing and funding the Sekirei Plan, and will be the one to give out the grand prize. I don't know what it is, but it's supposed to be something amazing."

The mention of MBI made Yukari's shoulders tense up, and her face darkened suddenly. Shiina immediately shrunk in on himself a bit. "So MBI is basically running a combat tournament full of...aliens...beating each other to death and getting regular people involved in it," she said, knitting her fingers together and letting her hands rest in her lap. _Mom never talks about her work but she did say once that she's involved with personal projects overseen by the president. Could she be a part of all of this? _"It sounds crazy, but if I ask for proof, you probably wouldn't be able to give me anything conclusive, would you?"

Shiina shifted slightly and turned his head to the side, frowning and folding his arms. "My power isn't very suited for...harmless applications," he said. "It makes living things wither. I...don't know what it does to Sekirei, but I've killed an entire forest of trees with it before; they aged to the end of their life cycle the moment I let my power spread out."

As soon as he said that, a few gears clicked in Yukari's brain. She'd been watching the news fairly regularly, and so had heard about the Arboretum's recent overgrowth—and about two days ago, she'd seen a story about how all of said growth had been wiped out overnight by MBI, using an "undisclosed" method to do so. _Well, I guess it got disclosed to me, _she thought to herself, remembering the images of a barren brown wasteland that had once been a lush, green garden. _Assuming that he's not completely out of his mind, I've got to admit, that's pretty impressive. _"So you were the one that 'fixed' the arboretum?" she asked aloud.

"Yes. As you might've guessed already, it wasn't a natural growth that happened there. I'm...I'm fairly certain that my friend was responsible for it." Here, Shiina's timidity vanished, replaced with sobriety of a man far older than him. "Her name's Kusano, and she's like a little sister to me. Her power is to make plants grow, but she always had trouble controlling it, so I would use my powers to neutralize hers when she got out of control. I was still waiting to be released when I heard that she'd been released early thanks to a mishap with one of the adjusters. MBI made me go to the forest yesterday and thin it out before they released me to find my Ashikabi. Instead, I've been looking for her. Then that Sekirei with the whip caught me and decided to capture me for her Ashikabi, Mikogami, so I ran away."

Yukari tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Capture you? But I thought that your Ashikabi was your destined partner. If he's not your Ashikabi, then why would Mikogami want you?"

Shiina bit his lip, losing his confidence. From what he could tell of Yukari's reaction when she heard MBI was involved, she was not at all amused with the idea of the Sekirei Plan. What he had to say next would probably make her very, very angry, but she'd asked him, and he wasn't planning on hiding it from her. The best way to try and convince her into winging him (because he was positive, she was _the one_) was to be honest, and let her decide on what terms she would do so. If worst came to worst and she didn't want to wing him after all was said and done, he could try to find an Ashikabi while looking for Kusano.

He steeled himself, and said, "Because any Ashikabi can wing any un-winged Sekirei. There doesn't even need to be a bond. Mikogami could easily wing me whether I wanted it or not."

Just as he'd predicted, Yukari took that little bit of information poorly.

Poorly, in this case, meant that after she was done staring at him in shock, she punched the floor so hard that all the paneling in a two-inch diameter around her fist splintered.

"If I were in the mood to deal with that crazy bull-whip cow, I'd go find this Mikogami and let him know how I feel about that kind of behavior," she said. A broad grin crossed her face, drawing a very frightening contrast between the veins bulging in her fist and her forehead. Said contrast became slightly less distinct when Shiina realized that she wasn't smiling, but baring her teeth, as if she planned to rip someone's throat out with them. "It's bad enough that he sent a whip-wielding maniac after you, but to forcibly turn you into his lifetime partner ("_never mind how hot it might be to watch it happen_," her traitorous brain added) is lower than low. Showing such disrespect to a national treasure...I think I'd probably kill him if I met him."

Shiina blinked, forgetting his fear of her bestial expression. "A national treasure?"

"Japan doesn't have many handsome guys around," she said, her face relaxing. "They're rare enough that I personally consider them a national treasure, and that would include you—not sure if you noticed, since you're a guy and everything, but you're basically one of the best looking dudes I've ever seen. Scale of one to ten, you're a hundred."

Shiina felt his face set itself afire even though Yukari's statement was rather bizarre for a compliment, and Yukari giggled to herself, her anger forgotten at the sight of him blushing adorably. The mirth soon faded as memories of their initial line of conversation came back to her. "At any rate, you need to find your 'Ashikabi' and Kusano, right? Well, then, I'll help you with both of those things. I don't really get a lot of what you're saying, but I definitely know what it's like to have a big brother looking out for you, and I'm sure Kusano misses you."

"Well, at least one of those problems is taken care of, sort of," Shiina said quietly, blushing. "That is to say, I'm...I think you're my Ashikabi...that is. My body is...reacting to you."

Yukari blinked a few times, her smile fading as she stared at Shiina with a raised eyebrow. The boy quailed under the scrutiny, but managed to say, "You see, our bodies, they... They know when someone that is capable of being our Ashikabi is nearby. And I don't mean just 'capable of winging us'."

"You mean that the person you're reacting to is actually capable of caring about you," Yukari said, her expression and voice still subdued. "Instead of just treating you like a slave, something to be used."

Unable to speak in the face of her stern expression, Shiina nodded. Yukari simply looked at him for a moment more, and then, stood up. "I'll need some time to think about it," she said at last. "If it means that you don't have to worry about being chained to a rotten bastard like Mikogami, I'll gladly become your Ashikabi. But, I have school to worry about starting next Monday, and this Sekirei Plan could really mess things up. It sounds selfish of me, I know, but..."

"No, it's all right, Sahashi-san," Shiina said, doing his best to keep his disappointment from showing on his face. "I wanted you to think things over and make the decision on your own. If you don't want to wing me, that's fine."

Yukari could tell that the young Sekirei was not thrilled by her answer, but didn't say more. She couldn't just fling herself into something that sounded so complicated, even assuming that Shiina wasn't playing some kind of elaborate prank on her for no reason. "Well, in the meantime, you're staying with me. If I do decide to wing you, then I don't want you wandering off somewhere so that you can get captured by that jerk Mikogami." She smiled and put her hands on her hips. "So, let's go see my big brother instead of sitting around here and getting moldy. I was planning on it before I ran into you, and it'll be a good way to cheer you up. He lives with the best people."

Shiina seemed unsure at first, but Yukari's grin was too cheerful for him to lodge any serious protest. With a sigh, he nodded and got up as well. "Lead the way, Sahashi-san."

* * *

**12:30 PM**

The whole trip to the Izumo Inn was one filled with a calm silence for Yukari and Shiina. Having discussed mostly everything of importance, they didn't say much to each other on the train, being more preoccupied with making sure that they weren't taken by surprise, and it wasn't until they came to the neighborhood where Izumo was situated that Shiina felt comfortable enough to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Sahashi-san," he asked as they crossed a side-street, "what's your brother like? You didn't say a lot about him before."

Yukari folded her arms as she walked, humming thoughtfully. It wasn't a tough question to answer, but she didn't often examine her relationship with Minato so closely. He was her big brother and her rival rolled into one, and that was pretty much that for her. "Well, he's kind of dopey looking—really tall and kind of scrawny at first glance, but he's actually strong. Dad taught us both how to fight at the same time, so we'd always compete against each other. I used to beat him all the time, because I was stronger and tougher than him, and then, little by little, he started to get better."

She smiled wistfully at the memory of the first time that Minato had ducked around one of her punches instead of blocking it. At the time, it had been running counter to everything Masaru had taught them—he had always emphasized blocking so that you could press an advantage while your opponent was recovering. It wasn't until that fateful day that Minato had stood victorious over her, holding back tears only because she was already crying, that she understood how Minato's decision to avoid her attacks instead of blocking them paid off for him.

At the time, he didn't have the build or the toughness to take those blows head-on, and even now, stronger though he was, he wasn't densely built enough to take Yukari's strongest hits without flying away. Beyond that, his increased height only meant that his center of mass was higher up now than it was before; he didn't have the advantage of being closer to the ground that she did. Evasion let him work around that problem, and since he was already light enough on his feet as it was, it suited him naturally to avoid attacks.

It wasn't until Shiina looked at her with questioning eyes, stopping his walk entirely, that Yukari realized that she'd zoned out, and she shook her head, taking a moment to make sure they were on the right street before continuing down the sidewalk. "Once he beat me," she continued, pulling herself out of memory lane, "I started to see him as more than just my brother and training partner. He became my rival. Someone to seriously measure myself against. And he only kept getting stronger, but he wouldn't take me seriously either, because he was afraid of me getting mad if I lost again. That really got on my nerves, so one day I did something kind of stupid."

Shiina was fully absorbed in the conversation, now. "What was it?"

The memory began to stir in Yukari's mind's eye, and she grimaced as it came to the surface. "I decided to go train on my own so I could develop super-secret ways for beating my brother. It didn't work out so well."

* * *

_**Wakayama, Japan**_

_**2014**_

_**Thursday, 7 PM**_

_Though she hated to ever admit that she made big mistakes, Yukari pretty much had to hand it to herself here—she'd messed up big-time. Sure, it was summer, and it was still kind of light out in the deep expanse of trees she'd wandered off into in the back part of the family property—but that didn't change the fact that she'd gotten turned around for one measly second—only one!—before getting completely lost._

_This was not a good thing._

_Her parents and her grandmother hadn't forbidden her or Minato from wandering about the grounds without supervision, mostly because neither child had been allowed to until the last couple of months had rolled around, but Yukari hadn't even bothered telling anyone where she was planning on going. She'd been positive that she was able to navigate through the deep woods without a problem since her father had taken her and Minato in a few times without any issues (of course, he had the advantage of growing up on the land for well over thirty years beforehand), and now she was paying for that assumption with her absolute lack of direction._

_In about an hour or two, it would be too dark for her to see in front of her face. She had to get back home and get there now, or she was worse than screwed._

_But she had no way of knowing where she was, and so, no way of getting back easily._

_The birds chirped happily and cheerfully somewhere in the dimly-lighted woods, but Yukari didn't even notice them as she stumbled through the underbrush, looking for a way out. Tears began to sting her eyes as seconds became minutes and she didn't find her way out, but she angrily brushed them away, pushing her way forward with less fear and more fury by the moment. _

_"I can do this," she said to herself, knowing that she was deceiving herself, but refusing to admit to the lie for even a moment. "I'm strong, I'm a big girl. I don't need stupid onii-chan to do this. I'm fine! I can find my own way out!"_

_Minato had been treating her like porcelain since he'd beaten her, and every time he won since, he got even more hesitant, even more afraid. He couldn't ever bring himself to let her win, she knew he never would, but the hesitance was in his fists. And over time, that hesitance went from annoying her, to distracting her, to outright insulting her. Her father was of no help when she complained, simply telling her that he couldn't force Minato into treating her any differently unless it seriously caused a problem in their training—which it clearly was, Yukari knew. He was just being too nice to see it! _

_That was why she'd come out to the forest alone. She wanted to prove, mostly to herself, that her drive to do what Minato would not was still there, and that Minato was the one causing problems with his lack of initiative to actually beat her again. Once she found her own private spot to train and get stronger, she'd definitely show everyone that she was the more dedicated student!_

_Deep down, though, she knew that being the best wasn't the real solution. Some part of her was still upset that she'd lost to Minato, and even more upset that he seemed to be afraid of repeating the feat. And it was that part of her, desperately trying to prove something that didn't need to be proven, that kept pushing forward._

_Even when she tripped over a tree root and stained her face with dirt, and skinned her knees on a scraggly, grass-free patch of ground, she stubbornly got back to her feet and kept pushing forward. Even when the forest grew duskier and darker, and the birdsong faded, she kept pushing forward. Even when, at last, she could no longer see more than two feet in front of her, and shadows crept at the edges of her limited vision, she kept pushing forward._

_But eventually, despair overcame her, and she collapsed on a fresh bed of grass, unwilling to move any more, and finally let those stubborn tears and hidden fears spill out._

"_Minato-nii-chan... Why won't you take me seriously?" she sobbed into the grass. "Why won't you fight your hardest like you did before?! How am I supposed to get strong if you won't fight right? Why won't Dad tell you to get serious and fight me?! It's not fair! It's not fair that he won't get mad at you! It's not fair that he'll let you get away without trying!"_

_She had no idea how long she lay there wailing and crying to herself, but she did somehow manage to hear someone—or something—make its way over to her, its feet swishing through the grass as it approached. Quickly, Yukari got up, wiping her tears away as she tried to focus on whatever was going to come at her. Even if it was a dangerous wild animal, seeing it would let her figure out the best way to flee._

_To her surprise, the dark glade lit up slightly as her brother, dressed in a long white shirt and blue jeans, emerged from the grass, his features set into a worried and angry glare as he shone a flashlight down on Yukari, who was standing gingerly thanks to her skinned knees. "You'd better have a very good explanation for what the hell you're doing out here at this time of night, Yukari," he said slowly, relaxing his face as he saw the streaks of tears and dirt on his younger sister's face. "To tell you the truth, Dad's probably going to kill us either way, but better he does it than a bear."_

"_...my legs hurt, onii-chan," she said after a moment, looking away from him. "Can you carry me?"_

_Minato stepped closer to her, put down the flashlight, and knelt down, turning his back to Yukari. "It'll be easier if you ride piggyback and hold on tight. Come on."_

_Quietly, she complied, gently wrapping her legs around his upper body and wreathing his neck with her hands. Once she was secure, Minato picked up the flashlight and stood, going back the way he came._

"_How did you find me, onii-chan?" she asked, listening absently to the sounds of insects buzzing in the night as Minato took them back through the brush. "And how are you going to get us out?"_

_Minato grinned and chuckled, despite his sour mood. "Doesn't matter, and doesn't matter. It's more important that I get us out of here than tell you my secrets. Mom managed to make it down from Teitou again, but she's gotta leave early in the morning, so this is the last time we're gonna see her for a while. Even if we're grounded until we're wrinkled like walnuts, we can at least get a chance to see her and eat dinner with her for once, right?"_

_Yukari simply nodded, not trusting her voice, and Minato felt her head moving on his back as she nestled into it. He sighed to himself. It was a good thing he'd moved quickly. As dark as it was now, the forest was already rather creepy and he'd rather not be here when it got even darker._

"_Yukari," he said aloud. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to see you cry again. So I..."_

_He felt Yukari's head shift on his back again. "Forget it, onii-chan. I was being dumb, too. You didn't want to hurt me, right? So that's why you didn't fight at your best."_

_After a moment, Minato swallowed the knot in his throat and nodded as he carefully stepped over a tree root, then ducked to avoid smacking Yukari's head on an overhanging branch. "Yeah, that's right. But next time...I won't step all over your pride by doing that. I'll fight you the way I'm supposed to. So that both of us can get strong."_

"_And I won't cry, either," Yukari replied. "I won't be sad when I lose, so that way you can keep on fighting me the right way. We'll get stronger together."_

_The rest of the trip passed in silence._

* * *

The story had held Shiina's attention so tightly that he hadn't even realized that they'd reached the gates of Izumo Inn until Yukari stopped walking and looked at the large boarding house with a smile on her face. "We both got in a lot of trouble when we got home—me for wandering off and onii-chan for going in after me on his own. But he kept his promise, and I kept mine. So, even though it was a really bad situation for a while, we both grew up a little bit because of it." She turned to Shiina, and the smile broadened into a toothy grin. "You look like you really want to meet him now. You're pretty easy to impress, eh, Shii-chan?"

Her sudden use of the nickname caught Shiina off-guard, though not unpleasantly. The way she said it was friendly and inviting. "Um, well...uh..."/

Yukari shook her head, still grinning, as she passed through the gates. "Well, you'll get to meet him soon enough." She then turned her face toward the Inn as she came to the front door. "Onii-chan? Asama-san? Is anyone home? It's Yukari!"

Shiina quickly moved to catch up with her, and just as he fell in step behind her, the door opened to reveal Minato, wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt. At his side, clutching his leg with a smile, was Kusano.

"Hey, Yukari," Minato said, shoving his hands into his pockets with an easy smile. "What's up?"

Before Yukari could answer, she noticed that Shiina and Kusano had locked eyes, and blinked quizzically at how intensely they were staring at each other. "Hey, Shiina-kun? Are you all right?" she asked.

Shiina opened his mouth to respond, but Kusano beat him to the punch. "Shii-chan," Kusano whispered, and in a moment, she crashed into Shiina and grabbed his shirt, wailing loudly. "Shii-chan, I missed you!"

Minato immediately looked over at his little Sekirei, seeing Shiina gently hug her, then to Yukari, and let out a small sigh. He hadn't recognized Shiina on sight, but from Kusano's reaction and the name she'd used, there was no mistaking who exactly this stranger following Yukari was.

"So, Yukari, how much has this guy told you?" Minato asked.

Yukari frowned. "Told me about what?"

Minato's eyes narrowed. "The Sekirei Plan."

"So you know about it too," Yukari muttered to herself. "It's too much of a coincidence that both you and Shiina-kun know about this thing." She scratched her head as she looked down at Kusano, who was still embracing Shiina. "And if this is the Kusano that he was looking for..."

"So he told you about the plan but didn't even offer proof that it was real?" Minato said. "Sheesh." He scratched his head and turned around, waving her in. "All right, come inside. We've gotta talk."

* * *

Since it was just around lunchtime, Miya had prepared some rice balls for Minato and the girls to snack on while they relaxed in the backyard. While Shiina sat on the porch with Kusano in his lap, and Uzume lounged nearby, Minato and Yukari sat next to each other on the ground. Akitsu, at Minato's request, was waiting just behind Minato, on his left side.

"...So even Mom is involved in this?" Yukari said, inwardly cursing that her earlier suspicion had been proven true. "Really, onii-chan, I'd swear you were absolutely nuts."

Minato grunted in annoyance as he shifted his positioning slightly. "Do I have to ask Akitsu to stab the ground with more icicles to prove my point again?" He gestured towards a patch of grass that was marked with damp holes where Akitsu's demonstration had already melted away.

"I didn't mean it quite so literally, onii-chan," Yukari said, shaking her head. "Seriously, do you think I'm that stubborn?" When Minato stared flatly in her direction as a response, Yukari shook her head in annoyance, cutting off any chance for him to talk. "D-don't answer that question, it was rhetorical. My point is that I wasn't sure it was true until you showed me Akitsu-san's little ice trick, and even then it's a little hard to swallow. Especially since this whole winging thing just sounds like an excuse to pick up a harem."

"Well, if you want even more proof, you can kiss Shiina. Then that asshole Minaka will call you too," Minato replied, scowling when he mentioned MBI's director. "Or, if you like, you could call Mom and ask her. She probably won't say much but she'd at least confirm it for you." He paused for a second, and added, "And it's more complicated than a 'harem'. At least give me some credit, here!"

Yukari frowned as well. She knew from experience that it took a special kind of person to make Minato actually angry. "I'm not opposed to kissing Shiina-kun, especially if it'll save him from that jerk Mikogami. It's just, he's asking a lot of me." She looked over her shoulder, and saw that Shiina and Kusano had gotten into a tickle fight while Uzume watched them. "And if I wing him, then...he'll have to fight against Kuu-chan eventually, won't he?"

"Yeah," Minato said, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I don't like it either, but that's the way it'd be. Minaka doesn't care about any of the struggles that we'd have to endure just to last that long."

Yukari sat where she was for a few moments more, shaking like a leaf, before she stood up, her fists clenched and back straight. "Then, why don't we change it? Can't we ask Mom to help us find a way to stop all of this? Why should we let him do as he pleases?"

Minato looked up at her with a sad smile on his face, while Shiina, Kusano, and Uzume all looked in her direction, unsure as to what caused the outburst. "Mom hates what he's doing, but she doesn't want to move against him," he said, getting to his feet with a grunt. "There's a good reason for it, but she should be the one to tell you what that is." He brushed bits of spare grass and some dust off of his jeans and his white T-shirt. "If you're really serious about this, then we could try talking to her tonight. She's coming over for dinner and maybe we might be able to convince her to change her mind."

Yukari clapped her hands onto his shoulders and grinned. "That's the kind of talk I expect out of my big brother."

"Hey, don't praise me yet," Minato said, scowling again. "We have to actually convince her. I don't need to tell you how damn hard that's gonna be."

* * *

_Author's Notes_

_I'm sorry, my internet is just generally terrible. :(_

_This chapter is more setup than anything else. A little perspective on Yukari so that you all can see how she's mellowed out a bit in comparison to her canon...well, Yukari-ness, a little groundwork for more drama, et cetera..._

Not sure how much longer the flashback openings will last. They're a good tool for insight on the characters I don't really touch on as much, but it's sometimes tough thinking of things to touch upon.

Chapter 9 is sitting and waiting to be edited, but by the time it gets posted I should be back up to speed with chapter 11. And Chapter 9 itself, barring any more stupidity with my internet, will be on time or my name's not Zero-Sennin.

I'll leave you all to enjoy this while I get back to work. See you between September 21-23 or so.

~ZS


	9. Circumstances of Bellflowers

_**MBI Sekirei Adjustment Facility**_

_**200?**_

_**Monday**_

_For Musubi, the "tangibility" of days, months, and years was practically nonexistent. As concepts, she understood them—there were 24 hours to a day, anywhere between 28 and 31 days to a month, and 12 months to a year—but her reality did not match up with what she knew._

_Instead of seeing the sun rise, doing things during the day, and then going to sleep at night, Musubi would spend her time, when awake, being taught, or having Takami-san poke and prod her with needles, or eating, or exercising._

_The only rest she got came when she was allowed to sleep on her bed, surrounded by the same pristine white walls that were always around her. _

_She could only count time by how many times she'd fallen asleep between one event and the next._

_There was only one break in the monotony, and that was when one person came to visit._

* * *

"_Yume-sama! Yume-sama!"_

_Outside of Musubi's personal room, Yume smiled down at the young Sekirei that was clinging to her leg, dressed in the white shift that all of the children wore around the labs. Musubi's brown hair and eyes—her entire appearance, in fact—resembled Yume's own looks so much that she couldn't help but think of Musubi as her own child in a lot of ways._

"_Hello, Musubi-chan," Yume said, bending down to pat the child's head. "How are you today?"_

"_I blew up some training dummies today with super punches!" Musubi said. "Takami-nee-chan said that I'm a power type!" She laughed and clapped her hands together. "It was really cool!"_

_Yume smiled and used her hand to pet Musubi's back."Is that so? Sounds like you were having fun." She turned away from Musubi's room and began to walk down the hallway, towards one of the outdoors exercise fields; Musubi quickly fell into step behind her. "Is Takami-nee-chan nice to you?"_

_Musubi nodded eagerly. "She always brings me candy and lets me exercise outside for longer than I used to be allowed. And she always tells me stories about where she lives when she's not working in the city. She says that it's got lots of grass and space to run around, and that she knows a nice guy that is really good at this karate thing!"_

_Yume's expression didn't change, but she squeezed Musubi's hand just a little harder, betraying a slight shift in her mood. "I see."_

"_Hey, Yume-sama? Can you tell me about your dream again?" Musubi asked, oblivious to the thoughtful frown on Yume's face."The one about me and the other Sekirei."_

_Yume blinked, putting her musing on hold, and put on a smile. "You aren't tired of hearing about it?" she asked, laughing softly. "It's not really that impressive, Musubi-chan."_

_The little girl vigorously shook her head. "I think it's beautiful, Yume-sama," she said, her voice calmer but tinged with longing. "If I was grown up and strong, I would make sure that the dream came true, too." The sparkle in her eyes was impossible to miss as she quoted Yume's words from memory. "'All of the Sekirei, flying freely in the sky. Free to pursue their Ashikabi, free to live the way they want to.' If that came true, I'd be able to play outside, and stay up as long as I wanted, and eat as much as I wanted, and no one could stop me." _

_Yume laughed again as they came to the door that led to the exterior training fields of the facility. "And some of those things wouldn't be good for you, Musubi-chan. There's a reason why you have to eat and rest properly. If you don't, you won't grow at all. Do you want to be fun-sized forever?"_

"_No way! I'll be taller than you one day, Yume-sama! Definitely!"_

_As the sunlight warmed them both, Yume felt her heart ease itself a little bit. Musubi's innocence and blind faith in her was often a comfort, the only thing she could be happy about during the kinds of things she had to do as the leader of the Disciplinary Squad. If it were at all possible, she would have looked after the young Sekirei like her own daughter—she knew nothing about where the Sekirei came from, but the similarity between herself and Musubi couldn't have just been coincidental. _

_'Or, it could be just a quirk of nature, and fate just likes to play bad jokes on me like always,' she thought, releasing Musubi's hand so that Musubi could run about on her own for a while. 'But it's a nice quirk. To see someone that looks exactly like you and have a chance to guide them...'_

_Musubi sprang into the air with a loud shout, then panicked when she reached the top of her jump and realized that she was at least eight feet off the ground. Before she could start to scream, Yume was up in the air with her, already cradling her, as gently as if she were a newborn baby. "Now, now, take it easy, Musubi-chan," Yume said, alighting on the ground with ease. "You're still a bit young for that, hmm?"_

_Musubi sniffled a few times, but then looked up at Yume and nodded, smiling even though a few tears were gathered in the corners of her eyes._

_'Yes,' Yume thought again, returning Musubi's brave smile. 'To see myself reflected in someone as cheerful and pure as Musubi-chan...it's a wonderful thing.'_

* * *

_**~Petal 9: Circumstances of Bellflowers~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou: Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Wednesday, 6 PM**

The time between Yukari's arrival at Izumo Inn and Takami's passed relatively quickly for Minato; since Shiina was busy playing with Kusano, both Minato and Yukari were free to do some work with Musubi. Akitsu and Matsu watched the Sahashis alternate drills with Musubi for hours—breathing exercises, followed by basic strikes, followed by technique practice, followed by a spar with Minato before the cycle started over again. Though both Minato and Musubi worked up a good sweat, Matsu noted (at least when she wasn't busy rapidly typing things into her tablet computer) that neither of them seemed tired.

In fact, they only got more invigorated as the training wore on, and their final spar of the evening was little more than a race to see who could outlast whom. Musubi's strikes were fast and terrifyingly accurate, rendering Minato's usual strategy partially useless—he could see where the blows were going, but his body, even with breathing, could only barely get him out of the way of the most dangerous ones. However, parries and blocks, followed by counter-attacks, were roughly as effective, and after knocking Musubi back with one well placed Hayate to her sternum, Minato was satisfied to see that she looked at least respectably beaten down, with dust and dirt staining her clothes as well as a few welts and bruises from where she'd been hit.

Two quick baths and a change of clothes later, Minato and Yukari were waiting in the foyer for Takami to arrive while Miya put the last touches on dinner and prepared to set it out. Since both Uzume and Homura were absent, presumably thanks to work, there would be enough space for everyone at the table with only a slight modification to seating arrangements.

"Onii-chan," Yukari said, still facing the door, "you know that she was holding back, right? If she'd fought all-out she would have made you a stain on the ground."

Minato nodded. "I never told her to pull her punches. She already knows that it's too dangerous to fight me with all of her strength." He tilted his head to the side, stretching a sore muscle in his neck, and grunted. "It's just the way Sekirei are. They're built tougher than us."

His calm tone made Yukari round on him with a heated glare. "But are you OK with that? Teaching someone that you can never fight at her absolute best? What would Dad say if he knew you were doing that?"

"Self-control is more important than showing off your power," Minato said, folding his arms. "That was the first thing Dad taught us, wasn't it?"

"Don't even go there," Yukari replied. "I know what you're going to say, and you're right. But that doesn't mean I approve of how you can't even let her cut loose every now and then." She put her hands on her hips and stared her brother down (impressive, considering that he was towering over her as always). "That's important too. She has to know her limits so that she understands just what kind of power she has."

Minato returned her gaze without fear. "The Sekirei Plan will teach Musubi all she ever wanted to know about that."

His voice was steely and steady. Yukari knew that he was absolutely serious, and broke eye contact with him to signal the end of their discussion. "OK, onii-chan. I'll trust your judgment, but if you mess up with Musubi-san I'll show her how a real Rindoukan user fights."

Minato's response was cut off when someone knocked on the door. "It's Takami," a muffled voice said from the other side.

Minato unfolded his arms and opened the door, automatically looking downward as his mother's shock of snow-white hair came into view. Takami was dressed fairly casually, wearing a white lab coat over a blue, v-necked shirt, black slacks, and black shoes. A cigarette, unlit, dangled from the corner of her mouth, shifting around as she took a small breath. A thin, pale scar ran down her left eye, marking the top and bottom lids; the reminder of his mother's injury at Yomi's hands made Minato twitch for a moment before he managed to gain some self-control and relax himself.

"You're not going to light that in here, are you?" Minato asked her, folding his arms to keep his fists from clenching. "Kagari-san is the only person that smokes at Izumo, and Asama-san barely lets him get away with it. Even if you know her personally, I doubt she'll let you get away with it."

Takami snorted and shook her head, causing the cigarette to wobble. "You know me better than that, Minato," she replied.

Minato hesitated for a moment, frowning darkly as a thought crossed his mind. _And ever since I found out that you're a part of the Plan, I've doubted that. _If his mother saw the shadow across his brow, she deliberately ignored it, and did something surprising; she took her cigarette out of her mouth, put her free hand on her son's back, and then pressed herself into him, pulling off an awkward one-armed hug. Despite his traitorous thoughts, Minato couldn't help but relax, smile, and return the gesture.

"I missed you, Min-chan," she whispered. "I know that this has been...strange for you, but I truly didn't want you to be involved. I know you're still angry at me, and I understand that. Just...please, trust me. OK?"

Minato nodded, and patted his mother's back. "OK."

She pulled away from him, and he saw the ghost of a smile on her face before she replaced her cigarette, pulled the door shut, and turned to Yukari. "And my wayward daughter is here as well? Still attached to Minato like a ball and chain, I see."

"Mom!" Yukari shouted, flushing bright red. "Don't say that! You'll give onii-chan's girlfriend and everyone else the wrong idea!"

Takami's response was to chuckle and shake her head before stretching her arm up to ruffle Yukari's hair. "My goodness, is your fashion sense the only thing that's changed since you came to the big city? You still can't take a joke, Yukari."

As Yukari mumbled something under her breath, Takami stopped messing with Yukari's hair and walked further into the house. Minato quickly followed behind her, and Yukari, behind him. To Minato's surprise, Takami seemed completely at ease making her way through Izumo Inn, keeping her hands in her pockets and looking around with a casual air.

"Have you been here before, mom?" Minato asked as Takami paused to look out at the backyard. Musubi would have been outside practicing at this time, but with dinner on the way she'd been ordered to stop early and take a bath. "You walk around here like you've been living here your whole life."

Takami looked over her shoulder at her son for a moment, then chuckled softly, continuing to walk towards the dining room. "It's been a while, but the inn is by and large exactly how I remember it," she said. "It's nice that not much has changed. It was a pretty quiescent place to begin with."

The door to the dining room was already open, the table already set with a large spread of food. Three cushions sat unoccupied at the low table; one was between Kusano and Shiina, on one side of the table, while the other two were on the other side, between Akitsu and Musubi. Akitsu sat on the left end of the two and Musubi sat on the right end. As Minato, Yukari, and Takami entered the room, Kusano looked at Yukari and patted the cushion.

"Yuka-nee-chan, sit here, sit here," Kusano said, her eyes wide. "Shii-chan was lonely without you."

Takami gave Shiina a passing glance, with one eyebrow raised. The young man blushed violently, looking away as he scratched his head. Yukari's face was practically glowing with embarrassment, but she did as she was asked, saying, "Thank you for saving me a seat, Kuu-chan."

While Kusano smiled up at Yukari, Minato and Takami went to the other side of the table; Minato sat next to Akitsu, and Takami plopped down next to Musubi. Minato let his eyes wander around the table, and wondered where Matsu had gone off to—after she had been winged, the braided Sekirei had eaten with them at the dinner table every single night, often cozying up to Minato when she did.

Before he could ask Miya about Matsu, though, Musubi smiled broadly at Takami. "Takami-san! It's good to see you in good health!" she said, bowing her head slightly. "How have you been?"

"Just the same as always," Takami replied, taking her cigarette out of her mouth and scanning the other side of the table. Uzume was sitting on Kusano's left side, and Homura was at the foot of the table, leaving the head of the table for Miya, as always. When Takami made eye contact with them, Uzume simply gave a small wave and a cheeky grin, while Homura nodded, absently scratching at his chest before his hand stiffened and flew down to his lap.

The action made Takami's eyes narrow, but she said nothing as Miya walked into the dining room. The landlady made her way to her seat and sat down before turning directly to Takami. "Sahashi-san, it's been a long time," Miya said, her face neutral. "It's nice to have you here, though."

"No need for that, Miya," Takami said, closing her scarred eye with a sigh.

Miya chuckled softly and relaxed her expression, hiding her smile behind a raised hand. She did, however, note the scar on Takami's eyelid. "Very well, Takami-san. Have you been well?"

Takami opened her eye and waggled the fingers that her cigarette was pinched between. "Managing, as always. Work's still crappy, my boss is still an idiot, and my subordinates are even more stupid than him." She sighed and ruffled her hair with her free hand, then gave Minato and Yukari brief, affectionate smiles. "These two brats have been keeping their noses clean, though, so that's one less stress factor I have to deal with."

Minato and Yukari rolled their eyes, but smiled back. Takami then took a look at the dishes spread out, and raised an eyebrow. "Are your spreads normally this extravagant or did you just decide to get fancy to entertain me?"

"I do this pretty much all the time," Miya replied, reaching for a platter of sliced-up fish and passing it to her right, giving it to Musubi. "No sense in letting one's skills go to waste by not keeping them sharp."

Once the platter passed from Musubi to Takami, Takami took a piece of fish for herself, laid it out on her plate, and gave the platter to Minato. She took up a piece of the fish and chewed it, savoring the flavor for a few moments before swallowing it and nodding in approval.

From there, dinner passed quietly, though there were a few times where Takami found herself giving Shiina the stink-eye when he gave any looks in Yukari's direction. The young Sekirei would then shrink into himself, causing Yukari to stare back at her mother in annoyance before continuing to interact with Shiina anyway. Though she kept her patient facade, Takami knew that it was a good thing she'd shown up for dinner after all. Miya wouldn't have allowed Shiina to do anything untoward to Yukari, but the landlady of Izumo Inn wouldn't necessarily say the kinds of things that Takami would say in order to make Yukari understand just what it meant to become a part of the Sekirei Plan.

* * *

Once dinner was over, Takami took Yukari and Shiina to the backyard while Minato helped Miya clean up (and kept his Sekirei distracted enough to avoid eavesdropping for the time being). All three of them sat on the porch, but Shiina sat further apart from both Takami and Yukari, still intimidated by the sharp gaze that Takami had been sending him during dinner.

At length, Takami spoke up, scratching her chin. "So, Yukari. How have you been?"

Yukari stared out into the yard, looking at the thin-branched tree that stood above the dusty ground and the neatly clipped grass at its roots. "Can't complain. The city's more pleasant than I thought it would be." Her lips twisted into a smile that didn't reach her eyes, but she never looked at her mother. "Aside from the secret alien fighting tournament going on right under our noses, and all."

Takami's natural shock reaction was grasped and throttled to death by the hand of iron willpower before it could show on her face. "How did you find out?"

"Shiina-kun explained the basics to me, but Minato was the one that added a few details," Yukari said. "Including a tidbit about how you're involved in it somehow." The chill in her voice could have frozen lava solid. "But I would rather hear it from the source, as it were."

Takami's cigarette traced a few lazy circles as she moved it around with her mouth, trying to form the right words. For a moment, she almost reached into her coat pocket for something, but she stopped her hand halfway raised and deliberately pulled it down, letting it sit in her lap. "It's the truth," she said at last. "I'm pretty much responsible for the day-to-day operations of everything pertaining to the Plan. I also supervise the medical and recovery staffs that MBI has for the Sekirei."

Yukari's back stiffened, but her expression didn't change. Shiina looked at her with a dismayed frown, and started to say something; Yukari put a hand up, and his mouth snapped shut. Then, she slowly turned to look at Takami, her dark eyes hard and angry as they met her mother's half-lidded gaze. "Why?"

"That's a long and complicated story to get into after a good dinner," Takami replied, closing her eyes. "If I tell you, it'll sour your stomach."

"Damn it, Mom! You can't just play this off!" Yukari shouted, standing up. Shiina flinched, as if he wanted to join her but couldn't will his body to move. "Shiina-kun could be made into a slave against his will! So could have any of the girls that onii-chan is with, if he hadn't found them first! And on top of that, you're making all of these Sekirei fight each other! Do you not get how wrong that is? Why won't you fight back?"

"If you think I want it this way," Takami replied, standing as well, "then maybe you need to use your brain a bit more." Her eyes were narrower now, a sign that she was entering 'mom-lecture' mode. "Of course I 'get it', Yukari. Do I look like a child to you? Do you honestly think I don't know what I've been preparing the Sekirei for?"

Yukari sliced a hand through the air and bared her teeth. "That's not answering my question! _Why_ are you doing this? What do you have to gain by making other people suffer through something so damn stupid?"

Takami didn't even budge, and focused her attention completely on Yukari. "There's nothing to gain from it. But I have plenty to lose if I don't." She paused, and Yukari realized that Takami had some very large bags beneath her eyes; the pride and stubborn resolve that the older Sahashi normally carried was gone, replaced by exhaustion, bitterness, and sadness. "And I refuse to lose them."

"So, it's blackmail," Yukari said, slowly sitting down again as she connected the dots in her mind. "Is it me and Minato being threatened?"

Takami stayed standing, and closed her eyes. _God, I wish I could cry. _"...your father, as well. Though they've yet to make good on it as far as he's concerned. Last I heard from him he was still out in the middle of nowhere." The lie tasted more bitter than the cigarette in Takami's mouth, but it couldn't be avoided. Minaka's explicit instructions were to not reveal anything about where Masaru actually was, and while Izumo Inn would have been the safest place for her to speak (between Matsu and Miya, there was no way MBI could have planted any kind of surveillance anywhere near here), she refused to spur either Yukari or Minato into a rashly-considered action that would probably get them killed by Karasuba.

Yukari's voice was just above a whisper. "Does he know?"

Though every part of Takami was screaming to say "Yes", she shook her head. "I didn't want to worry him. He doesn't know about any of this."

Yukari stared downward for a few moments, then swallowed something in her throat and squared her shoulders. Her eyes were focused straight at the wood of the porch, looking at nothing."Good."

Takami sighed, and looked up at the sky. The moon was full, and the stars twinkled, oblivious to the life below. "Yukari. I need to know. Are you going to become Shiina's Ashikabi? Because if you do...there are things you will have to face that you will not like. The bond you form with Shiina will only last as long as he is not defeated or you are not killed. And you will be expected to fight Minato at some point if both of you last that long. Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

Yukari finally brought her head up, looking aggrieved. "Shiina-kun found the little sister he was looking for. But, if I leave him by himself, someone will force him to become their Sekirei. Shiina-kun said that I might be his Ashikabi. If he can have happiness with me, and I can keep him safe, then I'll do whatever it takes to get us both through this alive and OK." She then looked to Shiina himself, who had simply been watching the two of them talk, but was now looking like he was on the verge of tears. "I know it's gonna be dangerous, and I know they'll try to make me fight. But none of that matters. I won't be tricked into fighting onii-chan, and I won't abandon Shiina-kun."

Takami looked down at her, and, seeing the resolve in Yukari's posture, nodded. Soft steps sounded in the hall behind them as Minato came around the corner, wiping his hands on his pants. "What did I miss?"

"You came just in time, actually," Takami said as Yukari and Shiina stood up and turned toward each other. Minato immediately understood what was going to happen next and opened his mouth to object, but his mother drove a sharp elbow into his ribcage, shutting him up. He glared down at her, all filial piety forgotten, but held his tongue when he saw that her expression was carved from stone.

Surprisingly, Shiina took the first step, coming closer to Yukari. She bent slightly so that their faces were level, and then she smiled. "Lucky for you my lips are still pure and chaste," she said, and leaned in toward him.

With that, they closed the gap, kissing gently, and wings of ki burst from Shiina's back, flaring up the flaps of his apron and ruffling the rest of his clothes. When the light faded and the draft of wind settled, they broke away from each other. Yukari stood back at her full height, smiling affectionately at her Sekirei. After he wiped the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, Shiina smiled back at her. "And now, we will stand together," he said. "Forevermore."

Yukari's response was to squeal and pick him up, nuzzling him like a child would cuddle a cat. "Oh, Shiina-kun, you're absolutely adorable!"

Shiina's response was to blush, while Minato rubbed his temples with a weary smile. _Looks like I'll have to step up a bit and teach that poor kid how to deal with her properly. His life's gonna be a damn mess if he doesn't learn how to keep her from running roughshod over him._ Once his sister put Shiina down, Minato walked over to them, the mirth fading from his face. "Yukari, Shiina-san. What are you going to do in the Sekirei Plan?"

Yukari pursed her lips for a moment, then shrugged. "I know that if we fight a lot we'll be breaking up a lot of couples, and to be honest I don't want to go around hurting just whoever. Dad raised us better than that, right?" Her mouth tightened into a line. "Though, I think there's one guy that I have a grudge to settle with. You ever heard of a guy called Mikogami?"

Minato's hand twitched into a fist before he forced it to relax, but Yukari saw his arm shudder; behind him, Takami rubbed the spot on her forehead where the scar on her eye ended and frowned.

"Heard of him?" Minato asked. "He tried to abduct Akitsu-san when I first met her. I owe him a punch in the face."

Yukari raised her eyebrows a bit, but continued her earlier point. "So, as it turns out, Mikogami sent one of his Sekirei after Shiina-kun here. I let her know that was a bad idea, and then brought him back to my place. We came over here just to relax, but...well, you know the rest."

Minato nodded. "So you want to take Mikogami out of the game as payback for messing with Shiina-kun? Sounds like a plan, but he's got a Sekirei with him that's a bit above the rest." It had been weeks ago by now, but Minato could still remember Mutsu's heavy hand on his shoulder, and it gave him a kind of pause that no other opponent had managed to give him. "And, even though he's a jerk, I really don't want to go out of my way to fight him. There might be one of his Sekirei that has a real relationship with him." He closed his eyes, remembering how tearful Musubi had been at the prospect of being separated from him, how Akitsu was so steadily devoted to him and his happiness, how Kusano trusted him completely, how Matsu wanted to help him when he was feeling bad about himself. "I'd feel like a scumbag if I took from them the kind of relationship that I have with my Sekirei."

Yukari grimaced, rubbing her neck. "...Yeah. That wouldn't be right. Even if he's a jerk... If his Sekirei are happy with him, then I don't want to put them in a tough spot." Her indecision soon faded, though, as she looked at Shiina with a smile. "But if he starts a fight, onii-chan, I'm not playing nice. He wants to keep his Sekirei? He stays away from ours."

Minato nodded, expecting nothing less. Takami sighed again, but managed a crooked smile as she walked toward the door leading back inside. "Then, since you all have made up your minds, I'll head out." Before going inside, she turned to her children and Shiina, her smile growing thinner, softer, sadder. "If I could have had it my way, I would've talked you out of it, but it's like I told Minato once before. You're almost grown, and can make your own decisions. And, considering who I am in this plan, and how I haven't even been around you all because of it...I don't have any right to tell you what to do."

"Mom, can't you at least try not to let it get any worse?" Yukari asked. "If you do so much for the Plan already, then—"

Takami shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. I do a lot for the Plan, but in the end I don't have any say in what happens. It's all based on what Minaka wants to do. Even so, I'm still at fault for helping him, and..." She thought of the crest on Akitsu's forehead, and closed her eyes briefly, wishing that her cigarette could be lit. Wishing that the tears would drop from her eyes already. "And for a lot of other things."

With that, she slid open the screen door and walked inside, her feet padding softly as she went back towards the front of the house. Minato and Yukari exchanged sad, worried glances, then nodded and went in after her, with Shiina following behind them. By the time they were halfway down the hall, Takami had already put on her loafers and was about to leave. Miya stood near the stairs, her face showing no particular emotion.

"You know, you don't need to be so hard on yourself," the landlady said. "You need to forgive yourself for your mistakes."

"You, of all people, telling me to forgive myself for what I helped do to the Sekirei," Takami said, stopping to stare at Miya. The sarcastic incredulity was written all over Takami's dull expression. "Miracles happen after all."

Miya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Takami-san, I'm serious. You didn't understand what you were doing back then, and by the time you did, you were already being coerced into helping. Do you think I'm so petty that I would hold a grudge in that circumstance?"

Takami stood up, brushed off her pants, and turned toward the door. "If you were, you wouldn't have let me over here for dinner. I may not be a Minaka, but I'm no idiot." Her shoulders stayed square for a brief moment, then slumped. "For God's sake, I'm basically responsible for what happened to Akitsu, even if I wasn't there. I have to be reminded of that failure and every other one whenever I look at my son." Her hands shook. "I can't be forgiven for that. I can't be forgiven for anything. And I can't forgive myself for anything."

Miya heard the footsteps in the hall growing louder right at that moment, and hoped that whoever was coming hadn't heard a word of that.

"Mom, wait up!" Minato shouted, rounding the corner and panting slightly. "Why'd you just walk off like that?"

Takami didn't answer, opening the door. Yukari and Shiina came to the foyer area just in time to see her step out and start to close the door. Minato took several angry strides forward, but Takami closed it right as he got close. Grunting, Minato opened the door and put a firm hand on his mother's shoulder before she could get out of arm's reach. "Mom, talk to me. What is it? What's wrong?"

Takami's words were quiet and controlled, but Minato had never heard her voice sound so hollow. "I have to go back to work. It was good to see you, son."

"Damn it, Mom!" he shouted. "If there's something wrong, say it! What's the matter with you?"

Slowly, Takami reached up and put her hand over his, then lifted it off of her shoulder. With the other hand, she reached into her coat pocket and withdrew a lighter; in a few moments, she'd lit up her cigarette and taken a deep breath, replacing the lighter as casually as she'd taken it out. "I already said it. You're an adult now, Minato. You don't need me holding your hand every step of the way." Something had crept back into her voice that had been missing, but Minato didn't know what it was; she still sounded distant and cold. "You and Yukari, from here on...you have a lot to face. I'll help if I can, when I can. But from now on, there isn't anything that I can do for you directly, aside from pray." She turned to look at him, and her scarred eye was watering slightly. "I love you and your sister very much, and I want you two to look after each other. Very soon, the next stage of the Sekirei Plan will start. And that's when this city will become a closed-off, bloody battlefield."

Minato wanted very badly to say something, anything, but he couldn't open his mouth. Takami simply walked away, passing through the front gates with a wisp of smoke trailing behind her and her shoulders held firm and high.

It wasn't until she approached the limousine waiting several blocks away from Izumo Inn that she noticed the tracks of tears running down her face.

* * *

A few seconds after his mother left, Minato went back inside, shaking his head when Yukari started to ask about what had happened with their mother. Getting the message, Yukari decided to say something else. "Onii-chan, Shiina-kun and I will be leaving too. I have to get ready for school, and try to get back in shape in case any Ashikabi start to get ideas about hunting down some Sekirei."

Minato nodded, his eyes still faraway. "Just don't do something stupid like that 'crusader of justice' stuff you used to go on and on about. All that's gonna do is get you in trouble with someone that might be able to beat your ass if you fight them."

Yukari puffed out her cheeks and punched Minato in the gut. He pretended to choke dramatically and staggered around, clutching his belly. This only got her more upset, and she tried to stomp on Minato's foot, only to miss every time she came close to crushing his toes. Eventually, she gave up, walking back over to where Shiina was watching the whole affair. She took Shiina's hand in hers, causing him to blush, but before her Sekirei could say anything, she stormed off, her cheeks puffed out. However, she stopped when she got to the door, and looked back at Minato with a smile.

"Onii-chan. If you ever need me, just call."

Shiina nodded as well, and bowed to Minato. "Minato-san, take care."

And just like that, they were gone, closing the door behind them. Minato locked it, then turned to the stairs with a sigh. Thanks to his height, he totally failed to notice Matsu standing in front of him.

"Hey there, Mina-tan. Did you have fun with your mom?"

Matsu's voice coming from nowhere made him jump backward and fall on his butt; wincing, he got up and rubbed his tailbone with a grimace. "What the—Matsu-san! Where have you been?!"

"Takami-san and I have some history together that isn't exactly warm and friendly," Matsu replied. "It's better that I wasn't there to stir that up."

"She said the same thing about her and Asama-san and they got along fine," Minato said, folding his arms and frowning a bit to hide his discomfort. "I don't see what would have been so bad."

Matsu put a hand to her temple and sighed; when she met Minato's eyes, her own were narrower than usual, and sadder as well. "Really, Mina-tan, you don't want to know. I don't like talking about it." _It's not something I'm ready to burden you with yet_, she added to herself, feeling gloom sink into her bones.

For a moment, Minato considered pressing her on it, but since she had lapsed into first-person reference to herself, he figured that it was something she seriously didn't want to discuss. "Well, all right."

Immediately, her expression brightened up. "Then, Mina-tan, come eat dinner with Matsu~ Since I had to miss the big one with everyone else~"

Minato was about to agree to it, but then, he saw Musubi, Akitsu, and Kusano poke their heads halfway around the corner near the stairs. Though only Kusano was the one actually glaring at him (Musubi's eyes were wide and guileless, while Akitsu's expression was blank as usual), Minato could feel something sinister emanating from the other two.

"I'm a bit sleepy, actually," he said, wishing he could wipe his neck to get rid of the sweat running into his shirt. "I'll just turn in early tonight. Sorry, Matsu-san."

Matsu, seeing his gaze fix on that distant corner, spun around and glared, only to see that no one was there. She then looked up at her Ashikabi, her eyes still narrowed in suspicion. His blank expression eventually caused her to back off, and she walked back to the kitchen with a huff escaping her lips.

Minato shook his head and sighed, heading upstairs. His exhaustion wasn't entirely faked, but he still felt guilty for ducking out on getting to know her better.

Then again, pissing off Akitsu, Musubi, and Kusano was an even worse idea considering that they would all be dog-piling him by tomorrow morning, and that three angry girls were way scarier to deal with than one slightly miffed one.

* * *

_He didn't know where he was standing, only that it was foggy and misty around him. And cold._

_When he stepped, wandering through the clouds around him, he heard the slap of his feet on what seemed like tile. Whatever surface he was on was cold and hard, but smooth. _

_And then, he saw her._

_At first, she was just a shadow, growing larger and larger within the fog. But then, she emerged from it, right in front of him. Her hair was long and blonde, cascading down her back in waves. Her dark dress billowed outward, as did the white one she wore underneath it._

_But most striking were her eyes, icy blue and locked on his face._

"_So it is you, then," she said, and he was taken aback by her imperious tone. "You are the one who would claim to be my Ashikabi." She smiled as she raised her hand, but the expression on her face failed to reach her eyes. The sleeve of her dress billowed outward, and a small sphere of water began to form above her palm. "Luck does not lie with you today. For now that I know your face...I shall not suffer you to live and violate me against my will."_

_Her wrist snapped forward, and the sphere of water exploded into a million streams, rushing at him, battering his body with the force of a waterfall. He could feel himself spinning around and around as he flew through the air, and when he hit the ground, his vision immediately began to darken. The click-clack of her heeled boots kept him just conscious enough to hear her last words._

"_Begone from me, you who would call himself my Ashikabi. I have no need of you for my strength to become whole. Already I stand at the pinnacle. Heed my warning or I shall end your life in the twinkling of an eye."_

* * *

**Saturday, 7:00 AM**

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

Minato awoke in a cold sweat, eyes snapping open as he tried to sit up (and failed, thanks to Kusano's weight on his chest). After a few moments, he recognized his surroundings and took deep, steadying breaths in order to slow down his heartbeat. The dream had been so lifelike that for a second he'd thought that he had been abducted and tossed to the mercy of that water-using woman...

He shook his head to clear it of the fog of sleep, and once his vision cleared up, he saw both Akitsu and Matsu hovering directly in front of his face.

"Mina-tan, you were thrashing around a lot," Matsu said, frowning as she leaned back into a sitting position. Her glasses were nowhere in sight, which was normal when she first woke up in the morning. "Are you all right?"

Minato nodded slowly as more memories from the dream came back to him. The woman had said that he was supposed to be her Ashikabi; could it have been another dream like the one he had of Kusano?

"Matsu-san," Minato said, rubbing his face with one hand, "I have a question that I need you to answer. Is it normal for Ashikabi to dream about Sekirei?"

Out of nowhere, Matsu produced her glasses with a flourish of the hand and slid them onto her face, her expression becoming thoughtful. "Well, yes, it's not unheard of. Why do you ask?"

As Minato explained what he'd just seen in his dreams, and then recounted his dream of Kusano, Matsu nodded several times. "That sounds about right," she said. "Usually, though, an Ashikabi will only dream about Sekirei that could be reacting to them, and the ability tends to not develop in most Ashikabi because they don't have the potential to be particularly strong Ashikabi."

Minato's nose wrinkled. "'Strong Ashikabi'?"

"That is to say, Ashikabi that have winged more than one Sekirei and have—or are developing—a particularly deep bond with those Sekirei." Matsu adjusted her glasses and smiled, though it seemed a little bit shaky. "Basically, as you wing Sekirei, your ability and potential to attract stronger Sekirei increases, as does the overall power of your connection to the ones you have winged. So if you hadn't winged both Muu-tan and Kuu-tan, it would have been harder to attract Matsu's attention." She saw the crestfallen look on Minato's face, and hastily added, "Strictly in terms of biology, you understand."

Seeing that Matsu was seriously fumbling for words at this point, Minato just nodded. Internally, though, he could feel doubt nagging at his mind, and a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. _So then, all of these Sekirei gathering around me...was it really just because of their biology that they even came in the first place?_

Surprisingly, it was Akitsu that responded to the tensing of his body as the implications settled in. She put a hand over his own, and squeezed it gently, causing him to look at her. "You are more than your power," Akitsu said. "Love transcends that. And...we all love you."

After a few moments, Minato nodded again, but this time, his expression cleared up. Akitsu then withdrew from him, and Matsu stood, smiling at her Ashikabi. "After breakfast," the pigtailed Sekirei said, "come to Matsu's room, Mina-tan. We can find the Sekirei you saw in your dreams."

* * *

**9:00 AM**

It took a little longer than Matsu had been expecting for Minato to get to her room. After breakfast, he'd taken an hour or so to train with Musubi again, watching her fail at the Hayate slightly less than usual, and then he'd made his way to her after about an hour or so.

As Minato pushed in the wall, Matsu looked at him with a pout on her face. "Mina-tan, what were you doing, taking a nap? Matsu's been waiting forever for you~"

"I was busy," Minato replied with a shrug; from behind one of his legs, Kusano stuck her head out and blew a raspberry at Matsu. "Sorry, Matsu-san."

Matsu made a dignified huffing sound, directed either at Minato or Kusano, and turned back to the main monitor. "Anyway, Mina-tan. What did this Sekirei you saw in your dreams look like? Start with the basics."

Minato closed his eyes and concentrated on the vivid mental image. "A girl, with long blonde hair," he said. "Kind of small-looking. Blue eyes. Wore a black dress and thigh-high boots. Spoke...kind of strangely. She sounded like she was from a period piece or something."

As he spoke, Matsu's fingers flew over the keyboard, referencing every detail that Minato mentioned. When she finished, one result came up on screen, and after studying the profile, she turned to Minato with a look on her face that could only be described as a miserable stare. "Please, Mina-tan," she said, her voice indistinct and mumbling. "Don't tell me that this was the one."

Minato took a closer look at the screen, and the Sekirei from his dream was on the monitor as plain as day, with the words "09 Tsukiumi" written above her picture in addition to what looked like a psych evaluation. "Well, then I won't tell you that you pretty much found her." He looked at the monitor again, more closely reading the kanji characters that Tsukiumi's name was written with. "'Moon Sea'. That's a pretty interesting name."

"Mina-tan, could you focus for a second?" Matsu said, her voice pleading. "Tsukiumi is really bad news. She hates Ashikabi with a passion, and based on how clearly you two saw each other in the dream, she'll know who you are on sight." Her lip trembled. "If she finds you, she'll probably do everything she can to kill you, just to soothe her pride."

"She said as much, and I've heard worse threats anyway," Minato replied, easing into a sitting position before he folded his arms, staring at Tsukiumi's picture as if it were the real thing staring back at him. Kusano plopped down right beside him, sitting cross-legged just like him. "If she wants to try me on for size, she'll be in for a rude awakening."

Matsu fully turned away from the screen and gave Minato a stern glare that he didn't even know she could unleash. "She can control water, Mina-tan, or did you forget that? You wouldn't even be able to get near her, she'd just blast you back like she did in the dream. And probably go farther than that."

Minato didn't even flinch back from her gaze. "And Akitsu-san controls ice. Considering how I've felt her make her own personal winters in the past, I'm pretty sure she can apply that skill to freezing water. Problem solved."

Matsu grimaced at the oversight, and Minato smirked at his small victory, though he soon relaxed into a more genuine smile when he realized how smug he was being. "I appreciate you being worried about me," he said. "Honest, I do. But if she doesn't want to be winged, I won't go out of my way to find her and force her to become my Sekirei. And, even if we meet, I still have the option to turn her down, don't I?"

Matsu slowly nodded. "Though, if she's reacting already, leaving her alone might be crueler than just winging her. It's true that you could let her find another Ashikabi, but out of all the ones with the ability to attract her..." She looked back toward the screen, silently debating whether to say anything or not about the subject dancing on the tip of her tongue.

"Finish your thought," Minato said, leaning forward slightly. "'Out of all the ones with the ability to attract her,' you said. What were you going to add to that?"

Matsu sighed._ He had to ask, didn't he._ She pulled off her glasses, rubbing her temples for a moment and taking a quiet breath. Then, she put her hands down on the keyboard again and typed rapidly, only lifting one hand to grab the mouse on the right side of the keyboard to click a file folder or two open. In moments, three images like Tsukiumi's appeared on the main monitor in left to right order. Minato recognized the first, leftmost one as Hayato Mikogami, dressed in his usual fancy clothing. The one in the middle was of a young man with hard, angular features and light-colored hair that was wearing a pure white business suit. The last one, on the right, was a man with messy dark hair, wearing a biker's black leather jacket, with the zipper spread wide open to expose his chest and a pair of brown goggles hanging low around his neck.

"These are the three other Ashikabi that are capable of attracting Tsukiumi's attention," Matsu said, her voice low as she pointed to the three pictures in order. "Hayato Mikogami, Izumi Higa, and Nishi Sanada have all winged multiple Sekirei, and thus are the only ones that have the kind of power that an Ashikabi would need to make her react. If you refused her, one of them could wing her in your place."

Minato's blood immediately froze at the thought of Mikogami claiming Tsukiumi for his own, though the bitter, angry look in Higa's photograph wasn't doing much to persuade Minato to trust his intentions, either. Matsu saw his jaw set in in anger as he glared at Mikogami's picture, and sighed again. _I would feel more comfortable if Tsukiumi wasn't gunning for Minato's blood, but he'll never wing her if she doesn't want it. At the same time, if Minato lets her be winged by someone else, then he gains a potential enemy. _Her eyes narrowed as she looked away from him. _If he doesn't realize that I'm trying to push him towards her for the sake of trying to solidify our own position in the plan, then everything should be fine. If not..._

"I'll talk to her, then," Minato said, his voice allowing no doubt. "I'll take Akitsu-san with me and tomorrow we'll find her. If leaving her alone means that bastard Mikogami might get a chance to capture her, then I should at least warn her."

Matsu put on her glasses, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that her Ashikabi was so kind-hearted. "You should take Muu-tan with you," she said. "Just in case. You never know what could happen."

Surprisingly, Minato shook his head, and stood up. "She's almost made a breakthrough with her training. I think it'd be better if she stayed here tomorrow so she can concentrate on that. Akitsu-san will be more than enough protection."

"I'm coming too," Kusano said, pounding a fist on her chest with a broad, catlike smile. "Aki-chan is strong, but so is Kuu-chan!"

Minato almost considered saying no, but he found himself tongue-tied when he tried to dissuade her; her big, green eyes were practically staring a hole into his head, and they only seemed to get bigger by the moment.

Matsu simply watched Minato struggle against the proud look in Kusano's eyes, trying not to laugh out loud at how he was being stared into submission, before he sighed and hung his head. "OK. You can come along. But you have to promise you won't do anything crazy. Otherwise you'll go on time out when we get home."

Kusano simply puffed her chest out, and Minato shook his head, groaning with a crooked smile, while Matsu chuckled to herself, losing the battle to hold back her laughter.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_A bit late again, but real life has been surprisingly persistent these days. That, and I keep focusing too much on trying to get my buffer back to an appreciable size.  
_

_Anyway, as usual my favorite part of this particular chapter was writing Tsukiumi's dialogue. The fake Shakespeare really wasn't doing it for me, as I said earlier; I'm not sure how much better my antiquated linguistics will go over, but hopefully it gets the point across better this time. Surprisingly, there were times when Matsu pretty much wrote herself, as well. It feels a little weird to write a character that's so sneaky about being good, mostly because the last character I wrote with that archetype largely chose to defy it (I'm looking at you, Urahara!)._

_Chapter 10 is due in two weeks, but I'll give you all forewarning; I am going to try not to miss the update, but I am debating taking some time to build up another buffer after it comes out. I probably won't do it because it's hard to stay on the update wagon once you fall off it, even on purpose, but please be aware of that while you wait for the next chapter._

_Anyway, I need to take some time and polish a few typoes in the early stuff, so I'll see you in October. Hope this chapter finds you well and that you all enjoy._

_~ZS_


	10. Lunar Sea Wagtail

_**MBI Sekirei Adjustment Facility**_

_**201?**_

_**Friday**_

_It hurt._

_Everything...hurt._

_All the muscles in her body were crying out in agony. _

_Her forehead burned as if it had been scalded._

_The spots on her body where the needles were piercing her skin sent angry spikes of searing pain into her spine and neck._

_A whining, keening sound was in her ears, shaking her down to the very core._

_The taste of bitter copper stained her tongue, and her throat was sore from coughing and wheezing. Before her vision had gone completely mad, she'd seen blotches of vivid, shining red staining the pristine white of the medical dress, the tiled floor..._

_She hated red, now._

_Pain was nothing new to her, not with the tests she'd been through so far, but this was too much. She wanted to die if she would do nothing but endure this pain._

_Even so, she could make out the horrified, remorseful expression on the dark-haired man's face, even though the light shining above her head was blinding to her, now. She could hear him muttering "it wasn't supposed to be like this, why was she so hard when the others weren't?" _

_A sound broke through the pain; the laboratory door had been opened, violently. Someone was walking into the room, their stride harsh and angry. A woman's voice was yelling out at the man, but she could no longer bear to keep her eyes open. The pain from the light flooded flooded flooded **flooded into her**and wouldn't stop hurting her. She had to shut it out._

"_Idiot! What the hell are you doing in here without authorization—" A gasp. "Shit! What the hell is...?!"_

_Firm hands were on her shoulders, shaking her gently, soothing the pain in the briefest way because they were so, so cool on her blazing hot skin. The woman's voice cut through the painful fog around her remaining senses. "Are you all right? Akitsu! Akitsu! Speak to me!"_

"_It hurts," she said, her voice harsh, rasping. The tang of copper in her throat and on her tongue came back in full force. "Why does it hurt?"_

_Something cool slipped down her cheek._

"_Make it stop... Please..."_

* * *

_When the pain stopped, emptiness filled its place._

_Her ordeal had a few 'benefits', in the end. She was stronger and faster than she remembered, once she could move. The ice, once temperamental and fickle, subject to only as much control as she could force upon it, obeyed her on reflex now. She needed nothing but a thought to do whatever she wished with her powers._

_But on her forehead, the Sekirei crest lay, immutable. A permanent scar, an eternal reminder that her body was incapable, unworthy of receiving a Sekirei's greatest reward._

_When others saw her, they stepped out of her way, avoided looking at her, whispered between one another. And always, except from one, it was the same thing she heard. The reminder of the isolation imposed on her by an incompetent, a situation that only made her feel more and more distant even in the middle of a crowd._

"_She's the scrapped one."_

* * *

_**~Petal 10: Lunar Sea Wagtail~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Sunday, 8:30 AM**

Though tomorrow was going to start a new chapter in his life, Minato Sahashi couldn't quite rest like he wanted to today.

There was work to be done.

He woke up at 7 AM, like he always did, but things were different. For starters, the three women (and one young girl) that always slept in his room were all awake, instead of pinning him to his futon like they always did. Aside from brief, friendly greetings, they didn't do anything to hamper him; no inappropriate flirting from Matsu, no sleepiness and sluggishness from Musubi.

The specter of the last dream he'd seen still hung around him. Neither him nor Tsukiumi had said a word to each other in the dream, this time; they'd simply locked eyes, wordlessly daring the other to look away first. In the end, they'd kept it up until he'd awoken, without ever breaking the glare.

Within ten minutes, Minato himself was dressed and making his way down the stairs. In a line behind him, the girls followed, dressed as they usually were; Musubi's boots clomped on the steps, while Matsu's and Akitsu's slippers, and Kusano's bare feet, barely made a sound. At the foot of the stairs, Matsu and Musubi stepped out of the line, and faced Akitsu, Kusano, and Minato.

"Mina-tan, I'll track you, Akitsu-tan, and Kuu-tan on my computers, and stay in touch on your phone," Matsu said, looking between him and the two that were going to accompany him. "If you're in trouble, I'll send Muu-tan after you. If you need help and you don't think I'll get to you in time, just call the number I programmed into your phone. The moment the call goes through, Musubi-tan will head out to intercept."

Minato nodded once. "Got it."

"And I'll practice hard while you're gone, Minato," Musubi added, clenching her fists and smiling with a furrowed brow. "I've almost got the Hayate perfect. You'll have to teach me a bunch of new things soon!"

Akitsu blinked at how casually Musubi used Minato's name without any honorifics attached. Matsu had been privy to Musubi's conversation with Minato already (thanks to the magic of surveillance equipment), so she sat back and observed Akitsu's unconscious reaction with the barest hint of a smile on her face.

Minato smiled at her, nodding once. "Then show me what you've got when I come back, and we'll see what I can teach you."

"Onii-chan, we gotta go find that scary lady, right?" Kusano said, tugging at Minato's jeans with one hand; her other was holding a small pot with a singular sprout. "Let's go, let's go~"

Akitsu put a hand on Kusano's head, and the smaller Sekirei balked at first, staring up at Akitsu with clear annoyance. Said annoyance faded when she saw that Akitsu's expression wasn't scolding, but calm.

"We should get going, yes," Minato replied, smiling first at the pacified Kusano, and then, more gratefully, at Akitsu. "Don't worry about a thing, Matsu-san, Musubi. We'll be just fine."

Once again, the lack of an honorific took Akitsu by surprise. This time, though, she visibly twitched, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Is something wrong, Akitsu-san?" Minato asked, raising an eyebrow.

Something bitter rose up in her throat, but she swallowed it back with great effort, and shook her head. "It's nothing. We should go, Minato-sama."

* * *

**8:40 AM**

The wind was cool and pleasant early in the morning, even amongst the highest rooftops of Shintou Teitou's central area.

Tsukiumi was not normally partial to a strong wind, herself, but the breeze blowing out her hair and brushing at her back right now was oddly refreshing; calming, even.

She'd left her hotel room early to clear her head from the dream she'd experienced yet again last night. Unlike the first dream, where she'd been able to make a show of force to intimidate the gangly, dopey-looking man that had appeared in front of her, the second had been something completely different. He'd stared her down without backing down, completely unafraid of her and the violence she threatened. His wiry frame seemed less shaky; there was a solidity and surety that had not been there before.

_I am loath to admit it, _she thought, frowning at the small specks moving around on the sidewalks below, _but his will was unshakable. I had hoped that he would be frightened off by me, but instead he gave back in kind what I gave to him. For a fool monkey, he is much more than I gave him credit for at first._

The sound of clicking heels behind her drew her from her reverie, and she turned her body partway to look at who was approaching. She locked eyes on two unfamiliar girls with long black hair, wearing oddly cut latex outfits with go-go boots—the lightning twins Hikari and Hibiki. "Well, well, what do we have here?" she muttered. "A nice pair of clowns, it seems. You have done quite well to match with each other, but I would think that you would want to try and defend your chastity better in a city of uncouth elements such as this."

Ever the shorter tempered one, Hikari clenched her glove-enclosed fist, causing the maroon material to creak ominously, and snarled at Tsukiumi. "Who the hell are you talking to like that, you pompous blonde ass?! And you should be the last person talking about chastity! Haven't you ever heard of a bra before?"

Tsukiumi flinched at the insult, then pulled her mouth into a tight smile, crossing her arms and continuing to regard the twins coolly. Sadly, the veneer of calm she tried to project was completely ruined by the throbbing vein pulsing on her forehead and on the back of her hand, as well as the fact that her hair was being blown back in the wind, spreading out behind her and moving as if it were alive. "Sharp-tongued as well. Very well. You seek a fight; I can provide one." Slowly, she raised her left hand, and streams of water slowly began to coalesce around her arm, swirling up to meet in front of her palm. "I am number 09, Tsukiumi," she said, her hair rising even further as a ring of water began to circle around her feet. "I accept your challenge! May the battle be joined!"

Hibiki immediately paled, and looked anxiously at Hikari, who had already begun to pull her hand back to throw a bolt of lightning. "Sis, she's number 09. I've heard a few stories about her. I don't think we can take her unless we come with a better plan!"

"Hibiki, less talking, more shocking!" Hikari shouted, flinging her hand forward to do just that. Tsukiumi scoffed, and brought her raised arm down, pointing directly at the twins. The water that had been gathering into a sphere near her hand burst into two separate streams. One intercepted the incoming lightning bolt and burst apart; the other began to rapidly swell as it approached Hikari and Hibiki, and became a powerful, rushing deluge that knocked both of them off of the building.

Snorting, Tsukiumi relaxed her body, releasing her mental control of the water that had been circling her. As the water splashed onto the roof and began to run off, her irritation returned. The skirmish had done nothing to settle her nerves, and she was sick of thinking about the issue of her "Ashikabi". It was simple to say that she would kill him, but remembering the resolve in those eyes...it gave her pause. Even with such willpower, he would be powerless to stop her from killing him; he was only human, after all. Considering the problem from that angle, that meant she was little more than a bully, didn't it? To kill someone that was defenseless against her...

The wind stopped blowing momentarily, and she sighed, folding her arms again. "Hmph. It cannot be helped, then. I'll not be cozened by him, but I have no right to strike him down. It was not his choice to cause my body to react." She looked towards where the twins had been blasted off of the building, and arched an eyebrow. "However, those two fools did attack me unprovoked. It is only natural that I punish their stupidity."

With light steps, Tsukiumi made her way to the edge of the rooftop and leaped to a lower building. If the twins had survived the fall, they would likely be taking to the streets in order to avoid her. It didn't matter where they ran, though. She had all the time in the world to find them.

And the search would give her time to get those flinty gray eyes out of her head.

* * *

**9:15 AM**

Impatience wasn't exactly something that Minato was unfamiliar with. He'd spent his formative years sitting still in a dojo for hours at a time when his body wanted to be doing anything but that. Age, and training, had mellowed him out in that regard, such that he could rarely remember times when he'd been actively impatient in the last ten or twelve years.

Right now, though, his brow was furrowed in clear agitation as he looked up at the buildings surrounding himself, Akitsu, and Kusano. They'd been wandering aimlessly around the streets, following Matsu's advice on places to search that she'd compiled from satellite footage of Tsukiumi's movements. However, Tsukiumi was nowhere to be seen, and they'd come a long way from Izumo Inn. With tomorrow being the start of classes, he really didn't want to be stuck dealing with something related to the Sekirei Plan when he could be getting himself mentally prepared for school after more than a year as a repeating student. As he stood at the center of the back alley where they'd been walking, his hands were clenching and relaxing as he squinted skyward, thinking he might catch a glimpse of Tsukiumi.

Akitsu had already looked over the areas where Minato was checking now, and her eyesight being superior to his, she'd already seen that nothing was there. Since it was clear that Tsukiumi wasn't anywhere nearby, her mind drifted back to the conversation between Musubi and Minato at Izumo Inn. When had they gotten so close that they referred to each other so casually? Had they somehow taken the next step in their relationship without Miya knowing? How would they have even pulled that off?

_Will he abandon me now that he and Musubi are closer?_

The thought was small and traitorous, and passed as soon at it came. But its echoes stuck in her mind, buzzing angrily. It took all of her self-control to keep herself from starting to shake.

"Hey, Sahashi! What's up?" a rough, male voice asked.

She looked up from her bemused thoughts to see Seo approaching Minato, smiling lazily. She could feel the frown tugging at her lips, but forced her face to remain still, just like always. She could not let her emotion show. Not here.

"Hey, Seo-san," Minato said, smiling in response. "What are you doing out here?"

Seo signed and scratched his head. "Runnin' a job today. Looking for a lost cat or some crap like that. Ain't paying too well, but it's a living, yeah?" He gave Minato a casual, questioning glance from the side of his eyes. "What about you?"

"Just a few errands," Minato replied. "Nothing big, really."

"With the icebox and the squirt?" Seo said. "Pretty weird errand to me, but then again I'm chasing after a cat." He grinned again, and sniffed the air. "Then again, at least the little one looks a hell of a lot happier than I remember from last time, and you've even picked up another one—Matsu from Izumo, I think. You're pretty good about looking after you and yours, ain't ya?"

Minato folded his arms, and Akitsu had to fight to keep her neutral expression again. This time, though, she was hiding a smile at how confident Minato looked; she had no fondness for Seo to begin with, so seeing her Ashikabi stand his ground against the older, louder Ashikabi made her feel warm inside. "You said you could trust Kusano to me to begin with, didn't you? Did you expect me to treat her badly even after saying that?" Then, he paused, and blinked before giving Seo a suspicious glare. "Wait a minute, how did you know I winged another Sekirei?"

Seo eyed Minato for a moment longer, then shook his head, sighing dramatically but making a point to look up into the sky. Akitsu noticed his eyes seemed suspiciously moist. "Let's just say the nose knows, kid, and Takehito is why the nose knows," he said. "But, seriously, you're reminding me way too much of him right about now. That ain't ever good. I get all teary-eyed and shit when he comes up. You wanna see a grown man start bawlin' his eyes out like a baby?"

"No, I don't," Minato replied, grimacing. "My father is already weak-willed enough to do that at the drop of a hat whenever he sees something 'manly' or 'cool'. If you started to do it, I think we'd have to stop being friends forever."

Seo laughed heartily at that, and slapped Minato on the back with a wide grin. Before he could say anything else, though, the sound of footsteps clacking down the sidewalk made everyone turn to the mouth of the alley, where they saw Hikari and Hibiki running toward them as quickly as they could. Their clothes were sopping wet, and their eyes were filled with terror.

"Girls, girls, what's the matter?" Seo yelled. "Didja run through a sprinkler or something?!"

Neither twin answered him, grabbing him by one arm each as they rushed past. Despite Seo's repeated demands for them to quit freaking out and tell him what was going on, both of them ignored him, and went straight on ahead without stopping for a second. Minato, Kusano, and Akitsu watched them go for a few moments, but soon turned their attention back towards the mouth of the alley when the distinct sound of boots hitting pavement echoed off the walls. Akitsu failed to stop her body from stiffening as number 09, Tsukiumi, came striding toward them, with her hair flowing freely down her back and her fists clenched tightly as her outer dress trailed out behind her.

"Where did those blasted spark-plugs go...?" Tsukiumi muttered to herself, seemingly unable to see the people standing in front of her. "Weak as they were, I admit that at the very least they were the only challenge I've faced aside from Homura." Her frown tightened. "I am not so patient that I will hunt them down like dogs, much as they deserve it."

Minato cleared his throat, and Tsukiumi jumped, then focused on him properly. Once she saw his face, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "...those eyes, that frame. You are...him." Her hand clenched into a claw, and water began to circle around her feet. "For you to come face your death so willingly, 'Ashikabi'...should I call you a fool or applaud your courage?"

"I'm only here to talk, Tsukiumi-san." Minato told her, keeping his face perfectly straight. "I know you don't want to be my Sekirei, and I wouldn't dare force you into it either. The only thing I wanted to do was warn you that there are Ashikabi that are actively looking for Sekirei to wing, and that you need to be on the lookout for them."

Tsukiumi's hand stayed frozen in the same position, but she slowly loosened it as she kept staring into his eyes. His calm was infuriatingly contagious, and his eyes were still as magnetic as they had been in their shared dream. She was loathe to hear him speak, but she had already decided that she wouldn't kill him, after all. She couldn't quite bring herself to rudely send him on his way, either; the warmth blossoming in her chest, which threatened to bring her to her knees, would not allow it. "And why, pray tell, would you think me unaware of this fact? I have seen more than enough interaction between Sekirei and Ashikabi to know of the less scrupulous ones."

"Because you deserve the warning," Minato said. "If it were up to me, this entire plan wouldn't even exist. It's stupid, wasteful, and harmful to people who should just be allowed to live as they are, human or Sekirei." He noticed the scowl crossing Tsukiumi's face, and decided to abridge his argument before he did something to offend her even more. "Anyway, that's all I came here for. I know you don't want me as your Ashikabi, so I'll leave now."

With that, Minato turned on his heel and headed for the other end of the alley, but to his surprise, she spoke again. "Hold." He turned back around and saw that a light blush was coloring her cheeks. Despite that, she was still standing perfectly straight, the very image of unbent pride. "What profession do you hold presently?" she asked.

"I'm going to be a student at Shintou Teitou University starting tomorrow," Minato replied, loosening his expression into mild confusion. _Where's she going with this? _"I'm going to work on getting a business degree."

"There is more to you than that," Tsukiumi said, damning her body as she felt warmth spread through it. "Thin though your body is, your movement and behaviors..." _And your eyes, _she thought to herself, before violently shoving the thought from her traitorous mind, "speak to experience in matters related to something that is not 'business'. I would know what that 'something' is."

Minato scratched his chin and smiled feebly, despite his continued confusion about Tsukiumi's sudden curiosity in him. The sight made Tsukiumi's blush flare up against her will before she managed to fight it back. "Well, my father taught me a little bit of Karate," he said. "That's pretty much the only thing of note about me, I guess."

"Then you, too, are a fighter," she said, stepping closer to him. At Minato's side, Akitsu tensed, and once Tsukiumi was about a foot away from him, she began to call on her ice, ready to freeze Tsukiumi at a moment's notice. "If that is so, then why would you condemn the Sekirei Plan? It is a gathering of those that must fight to become the strongest. Is that test of strength not what fighters like you and I live for?"

Now that she was closer to him, Minato realized that in terms of height, he towered over Tsukiumi. However, her wilfulness and the imperious way she carried herself compensated quite nicely. No longer feeling shy, confused, or intimidated once the conversation came back to the meaning of a fight, Minato answered her question without hesitation. "If the participants don't have a choice but to fight, then it's no fight I want a part of. That's not what my kind of fight is like." Memories of his spars against Yukari and his father all flowed into his mind, and he clenched a fist.

"Then, pray tell, what _is_ it like?" Tsukiumi asked, scowling up at him, but less in anger and more in confusion. "You say that it is nothing like the Sekirei Plan, but offer nothing to provide an example. How am I to understand what you believe?"

Minato's righteous indignation faded as he seriously considered Tsukiumi's response. Eventually, he shook his head, and shrugged helplessly. "You'd have to experience it, I guess. There isn't any way to just up and describe it."

Tsukiumi closed her eyes, humming for a moment, then refocused on him, her eyes determined. "Then show me."

Minato blinked, as did Akitsu and Kusano. "What now?"

"You said that I would need experience a true fight to understand its essence, did you not?" She uncrossed her arms and shifted into a fighting stance, her hands spread wide. "Then come. Show it to me."

"Tsukiumi-san, I'm a human, you're a Sekirei, and you can control water," Minato said flatly, and Kusano peeked out from behind him to nod vigorously, puffing out her cheeks. "How am I supposed to be an even match for you?"

Tsukiumi rolled her eyes, sighing. "Clearly I will not fight at my full strength, fool. I have interest in making it a fair contest, after all. Just come. Show me your conviction."

Akitsu's eyes narrowed. One of her hands rose up as the temperature around her dropped, but Minato reached out and put his right hand on top of hers, then pushed it down. When Akitsu gave him a confused stare, he shook his head, then turned back to Tsukiumi and looked down into her crystal-clear blue eyes. "I accept."

With a slow nod, Tsukiumi backed up several steps, giving ample room for Minato to maneuver. Quietly, Akitsu took a protesting Kusano by the hand and led her away from Minato, standing to watch him from another corner of the open area where they were.

"You did not introduce yourself to me," Tsukiumi said to Minato. "If you would be so kind?"

"Minato Sahashi. Rindoukan School of Martial Arts."

"I am number 09, Tsukiumi." Her eyes narrowed. "Minato Sahashi. Show me what fight you desire!"

Water surged upward from her feet and began to swirl ominously around her arm. Refusing to hesitate, Minato charged in, using his breathing and walking technique as soon as his foot hit the ground. However, Tsukiumi was still faster than him, and at a gesture from her index and middle finger, the water slammed into him. Unlike the dream, he wasn't lifted off of his feet, but his charging attack was stopped cold and he was knocked back quite a bit. As the water dripped off of his body, he lowered his arms from their crossed position in front of his face, just in time to see Tsukiumi gathering a sphere of water in her hand.

"Water Festival!"

Rather than attempt to beat her attack again, Minato waited, beginning his breathing again. When she threw the attack, creating a wild burst of water that rushed straight at him, he side-stepped it and immediately ran straight at her again. However, Tsukiumi had anticipated his strategy and was already preparing another attack to hit him with—but she wasn't the only one that was ready. As her hand swept out at him again and the water rushed from behind to consume him, Minato let out a huge breath and kicked off of the ground, hurtling forward and to the side slightly. Tsukiumi hadn't accounted for him being able to dodge the attack, and so the water splashed against nothing while he was already in arm's reach.

Minato took another deep breath, charging himself with ki, and fired a straight punch directly at Tsukiumi's exposed face.

Everything seemed to slow down for her at that point as the attack drew closer.

Something about the punch was extremely strange. She could almost feel the strength rolling off of it even though it had yet to connect, and something instinctively told her that a human shouldn't have had a punch that strong. For the briefest of moments, her mind rolled back over how he had taken a direct hit from her water, albeit weakened, and hadn't fallen over. How he had been able to move just fast enough to avoid getting hit by her rear attack. His movements were direct, nothing like the more graceful movements of a Sekirei, but his speed... He was only human. He shouldn't have been able to react so fast.

She spent so 'long' puzzling that over that she didn't realize that Minato had yet to hit her, at least initially. When she became cognizant of it, she flinched away from him and stared incredulously, while he lowered his fist and sighed, letting his ki flow out with the release of his breath. "Are you mad?" she said, her voice angry and hard. "Why are you stopping? You did not even land the blow!"

"Let me ask you this," Minato said, slowly straightening out of his ready stance. "Just now, right before I actually struck you, were you afraid of dying? Or were you more concerned with trying to understand how I got close to you?"

Tsukiumi growled in annoyance, shaking her head to clear away the confusion. "What need would I have to fear for my life? You had no intent to harm me, and I doubt you could have done so anyway."

Minato simply looked at her, and then, he smiled. "That's part of what makes my kind of fight different from the Sekirei Plan."

Tsukiumi blinked, outright unfolding her arms to stare at Minato. "What?"

Minato put his hands in his pockets and slouched slightly as he let his ki flow out, while Akitsu and Kusano silently returned to his side. "Instead of worrying about whether you'll die from the next blow, you try to focus on what you've done wrong so that you don't repeat it. Instead of being forced to kill your enemy, you can just beat them and battle them again later. And instead of being killed when you lose, you just lose."

Kusano leaned against his leg, pouting out of both jealousy and slight fear for his safety. He patted her softly on the head before continuing to talk. "Freedom to think and act in the moment without worrying for your life. Freedom to focus on making your weaknesses into strengths. Freedom to make your strengths even stronger. Those kinds of things exist in the Sekirei Plan, yes, but in a real fight, they aren't matters of life and death. Adversity is good for the spirit, but living every day on the edge...in the long run, it doesn't give you the balance you need to become the best. There is a time to fight and a time to rest; a time to be active and a time to be passive."

His eyes narrowed. "That's why I hate Minaka and hate the Sekirei Plan. Sekirei have to live from battle to battle, with their survival dependent on their ability to fight more than their will to. Not everyone wants to fight. Not everyone _can_ fight. And they shouldn't be forced to."

Tsukiumi was taken aback by the venom in Minato's voice once he brought up Minaka, and drew back from him, contemplating what he had just said to her. The idea that there were Sekirei that didn't want to fight was startling enough to her. From when she was young, she had been told that she would have no other choice but to fight when the time came. No other Sekirei, to her knowledge, had been told otherwise. It was even more shocking that as foreign as his viewpoint sounded to her, she could actually understand it the more she thought about it and applied it to her own life. She was confident in her strength, but she knew, much as she would say or think otherwise, that she was no immortal. A misstep, however small, would leave her without the slightest chance of winning the Sekirei Plan. And, as Minato had just reminded her, she was more than capable of being killed because of that misstep.

_His understanding is profound, _she thought, frustrated that she had come around to his way of thinking despite herself. _He reasons as if he were a human three times his age. Honestly, it is perplexing, but... _A blush spread across her cheeks again as she slowly dared to meet his eyes. _It is...attractive, as well._

Unknowing of that debate taking place in her head, Minato simply nodded at her once she looked up at him, and then he, Akitsu, and Kusano headed for the end of the alley that Seo and the twins had left through earlier. The sounds of their feet woke Tsukiumi from her contemplative trance, and she shouted, "And where is it you're going, Minato Sahashi?"

Minato paused in mid-step and gave her a puzzled glance over his shoulder. "Home?"

"I do not recall dismissing you," she said, surging forward to stand in front of him again. "Our conversation was not yet ended."

Minato allowed himself a small frown, putting his hands in his pockets. This was the second time she had stopped him from leaving. Either she was in denial about her feelings or she was just being contrary for the sake of being contrary. "What is there to talk about? You don't want an Ashikabi, and I'm not going to wing you against your will."

Tsukiumi's arms folded again, and her hair seemed to take on a life of its own, rising ominously behind her. "That does not mean we were finished speaking!"

Minato reflexively stepped back, and feeling threatened by the response, Akitsu stepped forward. Tsukiumi glared at her, only to falter when she saw (or rather, paid enough attention to notice) the crest on Akitsu's forehead. "That mark...you are a scrapped number," Tsukiumi said, her expression growing harder. "What, pray tell, are you doing here?"

"Minato is my Ashikabi," Akitsu replied, her voice brittle enough to snap. Some small part of her grew giddy at actually managing able to call his name without an honorific, but it was by and large overshadowed by the urge she felt to pepper Tsukiumi with icicles. "If you harm him, you will die."

Tsukiumi tensed at the threat, but realized that she was doing little to actually persuade Akitsu that she was not a danger to Minato. With an effort, Tsukiumi sighed through her nose and dissipated the water that she was unconsciously collecting, then closed her eyes and counted to ten in her mind before looking at Akitsu with a calmer, but no less intense, gaze. "I will admit that while you may have needed concern about that matter ere today, you no longer need worry. I have no interest in harming him."

"Then what is it that you want, Tsukiumi-san?" Minato yelled. "You said in the dream that you didn't even want me coming near you, then you tell me to stay, challenge me to a fight, listen to me wax poetic for a second—which I appreciate by the way," he added, scratching the back of his head, before launching back into his rant—"and then you tell me to stay again when it was clear from before that you didn't want me around. You're giving me a bunch of mixed signals here and I don't know what you're trying to say! Please, make up your mind!"

"Is it not clear?" Tsukiumi replied, her voice rising in volume to match his. "I...desire you as my Ashikabi!"

The alley went silent after that, as Minato stared blankly at Tsukiumi, who was now blushing violently. Akitsu's body betrayed her feelings by making her hands twitch once or twice before she clasped them together and put them behind her back. Kusano had never heard Minato yell before, and looked between him and Tsukiumi with visible fright, pressing herself against Minato's leg.

"...I admit it is hypocritical, to say this now," Tsukiumi said at last, breaking the silence as she continued to look away. "But your attitude and beliefs...they are far nobler than I expected of an Ashikabi. I began to think that mayhap...if you were my Ashikabi, and you alone, I would be amenable to the idea of becoming your Sekirei. I am...ashamed to admit it, because it was my goal to win without the power of an Ashikabi in the first place." Her blush grew even more violent. "I did not mean to be so contrary, nor so harsh. I simply...could not decide. It is a difficult thing to violate one's word to oneself." She squirmed slightly, and Minato waited for her to continue. Instead, though, she forced herself to look at him and stood tall again. "W-Well?!" she asked, her voice imperious and impatient. "Shall you accept my proposal or deny it? Speak, man!"

The volume of her statement made Minato step back for a minute, but he quickly gathered himself, coughing into one hand. "Well, if you're all right with it, then, yes. But, I should let you know, as far as Sekirei are concerned, you won't be my firs..."

Tsukiumi cut him off without saying a word, striding up to him and pulling him down to her level by putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing down slightly. The sudden contact made him blush, but he forced himself to pay attention to her, even though her expression was less fierce than before as her angry frown became pensive. "You would bring no ordinary child into a situation such as this, and the scrapped number is strongly attached to you," she said. "I am not entirely blind to what that means, nor what it could mean in the future. But what I said before still stands. You are an Ashikabi of convictions that I can respect. I will trust in you."

And, without haste, she kissed him. It was a short, brief one, but like always, something lingered on Minato's lips once she pulled away. The wings burst from Tsukiumi's back, glowing gentle blue as she wrapped her arms around herself; the surge of heat that overcame her made her a bit light-headed at first, but she soon calmed the sensation and looked at Minato with clear resolve in her eyes.

"Now and forevermore, I, Tsukiumi, am your loyal Sekirei and wife," she said, stepping back slightly to regard her Ashikabi. "Please take good care of me, my husband."

Minato nodded with a smile on his face, which froze as he realized what she had just said to him. "Wait, I'm sorry. Did you just call me 'husband' a second ago?" He paled. "And call yourself my 'wife'?"

The new stiffness in his posture and face made Tsukiumi frown slightly as she folded her arms once more. "'Tis only natural, is it not? As the Ashikabi I chose for myself, you are my destined partner, one that I am...to love." The admission made her blush again, but she recovered herself far faster than before; the idea had apparently begun to grow on her. "It is as good as a marriage."

_Nothing wrong with that line of logic,_ Minato thought. _Ignoring the fact that we didn't actually get __married..._ "Yes, but..."

"Then Kuu-chan is onii-chan's wife, too!" Kusano replied fiercely, gripping Minato's leg tightly. "And so is Muu-chan, and Ma-chan, and Aki-chan!"

For a few moments, Tsukiumi simply stood stock-still, staring blankly at Kusano. Then, she slowly, carefully, turned her gaze back to Minato. "I am slightly annoyed that you did not see a need to inform me," she said, smiling in a way that was far too similar to Miya, "that you had more than two Sekirei."

"No, I tried to tell you," Minato replied, brow furrowing at the accusation. "But you said it yourself, you 'are not entirely blind' to what it meant for me to have more than one Sekirei. Are you going to go back on that now?"

"Minato, there is a difference between me being your third Sekirei and me being your fifth!" Tsukiumi shouted. "What kind of a cavalier woman do you think I am? I need not share you with the child in that way, but to vie for the attentions of three other women...?! You jest!"

Minato pressed his face into his palm and groaned. "Where we live, I couldn't get away with as much as giving you a suggestive glance, unless I wanted Asama-san to break every bone in my hand with her ladle. Look, Tsukiumi-san, you can't tell me that you trust me and my judgment, and then flip out over this, especially since you said you were OK with it. I know how it looks, but I'm promising you that it isn't that simple."

Minato could have sworn that Tsukiumi's teeth were beginning to grind with the way they were clenched together. "I most certainly have the right to 'flip out' as I like! And I most certainly know it is not simple! You are building a harem! Are you completely blind to how this situation looks to outsiders?!"

Minato groaned again, though he had to concede that Tsukiumi was making extremely strong points. Before he could respond, Akitsu spoke for him, her voice calm now that her Ashikabi's life wasn't in danger. "Trust Minato-sama. If you do not want to, I can release you from our company right now."

Tsukiumi choked for a moment, then slowly clenched a fist, completely unwilling to let that threat go unanswered. Frothy bubbling sounds filled the air as water began to surge around Tsukiumi's feet. And then, Minato interrupted, stepping between the two of them, drawing his eyebrows together, and staring down at Akitsu. "Akitsu-san. That threat is entirely inappropriate, wouldn't you say?" His voice was calm and cool, but Tsukiumi could hear the disapproval all but flinging itself into Akitsu's face. "Tsukiumi-san is our comrade now, correct?"

Akitsu's body visibly trembled, and she bowed her head. "Yes, Minato-sama."

"We'll talk about this later," he said, putting a hand on his temple to ward off the incoming headache that he'd be feeling. The effect on Akitsu had been much more pronounced than he meant it to be, but for now what he wanted was for the two of them to quit feuding more than anything else. "For now, let's go back to Izumo Inn."

He walked off, with Akitsu following him, her frame hunched and small. Kusano hung back, looking at Minato with nervousness in her eyes, while Tsukiumi simply gawked at the sight of how oppressively frightening Minato had been. Eventually, though, both blonde Sekirei got a hold of themselves and hurried to catch up with their Ashikabi.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**10:45 AM**

In the time since Minato had left the inn, Musubi had eagerly thrown herself into her self-practice, following the steps to perfecting the Hayate that Minato had reviewed with her endlessly the day before. The usual audience was out on the porch to watch her progress, though Matsu was paying more attention to the screen of her tablet while muttering under her breath and typing rapidly into the keyboard she'd attached to it.

Though Miya didn't know what exactly the move was supposed to look like, she could tell that Musubi's movements were changing each time she repeated the steps—she would breathe in once, then exhale, step, and punch simultaneously. Each repetition brought her actions into closer and closer synchronization, little by little.

However, not even Musubi's energy was infinite, and she eventually began to flag, getting slightly sloppier. Seeing this, Miya stepped down from the porch and put a gentle hand on Musubi's shoulder before the exhausted Sekirei could begin the exercise again. "That's enough, Musubi-san. It won't do you any good to keep practicing if you're too tired to focus properly."

"But Minato-shishou won't show me anything new if I don't prove I've mastered this," Musubi said, panting as she straightened up for another try. "I have to keep going. Until I get it perfectly..."

Miya sighed, and quietly invoked her intimidating aura, forcing Musubi to look directly at her. "I'm sure Sahashi-san will be a lot happier to see that you've mastered it without nearly working yourself to death. So, why don't you take a break for a little while?"

Musubi smiled, but the sweat running down her brow betrayed her real feelings. "O-of course, Landlady-sama. What was I thinking?" With movements that were perhaps a bit too smooth considering her exhaustion, she plopped down on the ground, spreading herself out like a starfish. Uzume let out a not-so-quiet chuckle from the porch, and Miya's response was to round on her and smile rather widely. "Did you say something back there, Uzume-san?"

"No, not at all," Uzume replied. "Think you're starting to hear things, Miya."

Miya would have responded to that if Musubi had not suddenly sat up and looked toward the front side of the house. At the same time, Matsu stopped typing on her keyboard and tapped something on her screen. A window with the hidden camera footage from the front door popped up on the screen. "Mina-tan is home," the braided Sekirei said. "And he's got Tsukiumi-tan with him!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Musubi rocketed inside, leaving Miya and the others to follow her wake through the house. By the time everyone had managed to gather at the front door, Musubi was already opening it wide, with a joyful smile splitting her face. "Welcome back, Minato!"

Minato smiled and put up his left hand in a weak salute. The primary reason was that Tsukiumi was more or less attached to that arm and wasn't letting go, pouting furiously at an oblivious Musubi, and it didn't help that Akitsu was subtly doing the same to his other hand (with her mouth drawn into a tight, hard line) and that Kusano was more or less strangling his leg with one arm while holding her small pot in her free hand. "Hey, Musubi. How did training go?"

Musubi wrinkled her mouth into a tiny frown and knocked on the side of her head, sticking out her tongue. "I'm almost there but not quite," she replied. "The second step is really hard." She then noticed Tsukumi's hostile glare, and in a moment of pure friendliness, bowed, then reached out a hand. "Tsukiumi-san, correct? I'm Musubi, number 88! It's so nice to meet you in person!"

For a moment, Tsukiumi just glared at Musubi's hand as if it were covered in oozing sores, but after Minato gently cleared his throat, she muttered something under her breath, and detached herself from him long enough to return the bow and shortly shake Musubi's hand. "Number 09, Tsukiumi," she said, biting the words off as they came from her mouth. "A pleasure."

Completely oblivious to (or perhaps because of) the blatant hostility, Musubi simply smiled wider, clasping her hands together. "I have a feeling we'll get along just fine!"

"We shall, so long as you lay no hands on my husband," Tsukiumi replied, re-attaching herself to Minato. "You may have been in the household before I was, but I will be damned if I allow you to usurp my position as wife."

Musubi simply stared blankly in her direction for a moment, the smile on her face appearing genuinely frozen. Then, a surge of hostile intent like nothing Minato had ever felt practically burst out of Musubi, rolling over everyone present like a wave, before vanishing as quickly as it came. Save for Akitsu and Miya, everyone shrank away from her as if they'd been hit in the face.

"Oh good heavens, no, she couldn't have," Matsu muttered to herself, eyes hidden behind the shine of her glasses. "There's no way that Musubi actually learned how to...it was like a bear..."

"I felt kind of strange for a second there," Musubi said aloud, scratching the side of her head. "That was really weird." She turned to Minato with a quizzical frown. "Minato, what just happened?"

"Nothing at all," Minato replied, silently patting himself on the back for keeping his voice from cracking. "You sort of just spaced out for a second."

Tsukiumi's reaction to the murderous intent was much less placid; she outright let go of Minato and kept staring at Musubi with undisguised shock and nervousness, and her hand twitched as if she wanted to call water. She restrained the urge when she felt a flash of intimidation come from Miya's direction, more tightly controlled than Musubi's but even more potent.

"Tsukiumi-san," Miya said, "there is no fighting at Izumo Inn outside the boundaries of training. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly," Tsukiumi replied, lowering her hand and her head with legitimate humility (mostly to avoid the oppressive gaze of the demon mask peeking out behind Miya's head). "I apologize."

Miya smiled, and relaxed her aura. "Then, we should eat. Come, let's go inside. I've prepared a nice brunch."

Without further debate, everyone filed inside and found their seats at the dining room table, sitting quietly in their usual spots while Minato and Miya went to get the serving trays of food. The other residents of the Inn were avoiding Musubi's gaze as carefully as they could, though Akitsu and Tsukumi, sitting next to each other, got a little twitchy when Musubi sat down on the left side of Minato's normal spot (Kusano, being Kusano, always got to sit on the right). After a few moments of the awkward silence, Uzume picked up the remote for the television from its spot on the center of the table and turned it on, hoping to catch a bit of news and ease tensions.

"_...And in breaking news,"_ the reporter said, smoothing out a slightly unruly lock of his curly black hair, _"MBI CEO Hiroto Minaka has announced the 'lockdown' of the imperial capital. Details are sketchy as to why this is happening now, but a press conference with him is forthcoming..."_

Aside from Kusano, Matsu, Akitsu, and Tsukiumi, all of the Sekirei in the room stiffened and stared at the TV. As the announcer continued to speak, Minato and Miya came into the room, each holding two platters in hand, and saw the headline "Shintou Teitou now under full MBI supervision" crawl across the bottom of the screen.

Memories of his mother's last words to him on Saturday flashed through Minato's mind, and he grimaced.

The lines had been drawn.

The battlefield was set.

It was time.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_I want to apologize first for basically dropping off the face of the earth for the last three months or so. School began to get a little busy and I had to put this story to the side so that I could properly deal with it. I've got a break for a while, so I'll be trying to catch up while I have the time, and hopefully my schedule won't be so wacky this time around._

_Chapter 11 is currently finished, so I'll be working on 12 and hopefully 13 after that. It's dependent on whether my writer's block comes back with a vengeance or not._

_Review Response:_

_I'd like to thank everyone who's favorited and followed the story even though I've been AWOL to a rather unacceptable degree. For those that wanted a little more Akitsu face time, I hope the opening and a few of the other lines in this chapter scratched that itch for a while._

_Next chapter will be out two weeks from this Friday, keeping to the old schedule. In between then and now, I'll be writing the new chapter and working on fixing a few hiccups in the earlier ones. Till then, take care._

_~ZS_


	11. The Will of Wagtails

_**~Petal 11: The Will of Wagtails~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Monday, 7:45 AM**

At first, Minato's Monday seemed to be terribly unremarkable.

Just as he had been doing for the last two weeks, for six days out of seven, he got up at the crack of dawn, surrounded by his Sekirei enfolding him on all sides. With the addition of Tsukiumi to the group, he now needed Akitsu's help to get his limbs and neck free; Tsukiumi and Musubi were pressed on opposite sides of his body, while Kuu laid on his chest and Matsu grabbed one of his legs, leaving Akitsu the other one (which, without fail, she relinquished when Minato awoke). Not long after that, Musubi, slowly weaning herself from her sleepy-headed habits, would awaken as well. Both she and Akitsu would join Minato in freshening up for the morning, taking turns using the sink in his bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Afterward, they returned to their individual rooms (though Minato had to take an extra step and shoo out the other Sekirei that were still in his), changed their clothes, and headed downstairs.

Miya usually had breakfast started by then, but it was never quite ready, so Minato and Musubi would go and sit on the porch, performing breathing exercises to center their minds. Once the food was ready, everyone that was up (which usually meant everyone but Homura) would sit and eat, with no conversation due to the time of morning and an unspoken gloom that lightly hung over them. After finishing breakfast, Minato would leave for the train station—and Musubi, Tsukiumi, and Akitsu would go with him. The moment they stepped outside of the inn, the loud wobbling sound of a helicopter's blades overhead would break the silence between them; no one needed to look to know that the chopper had the words MBI printed on it in white block letters.

The walk to the station was constantly marred by MBI's constant displays of presence. Their troopers were milling around idly in the streets, guns lowered and heads covered by helmets and visors. Their vans were parked pretty much anywhere that there was space for them. Even getting on the train required that Minato and the girls hand over their tickets for inspection before MBI troopers let them get on, and every day, the guards looked at them with clear hostility.

Ever since the city had come under martial law, this had been the reality that Minato and his Sekirei dealt with.

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**2020: Two Weeks Earlier**

**Sunday, 11 AM**

"_**MBI is officially taking control of the imperial capital, starting today,"**_ _Minaka said, his voice calm despite the wide grin on his face._ _**"The age of the gods is to be seated here, in this place, at this time. To that end, we have been consolidating our power, waiting for this very moment. And now that we ****stand here at the cusp of its beginning, it is time to welcome the new world."**_

"_I don't even understand him," Minato said, rubbing his face with his hand. "I knew he was crazy, but this is too much. What is he talking about?"_

"_Mina-tan, listen," Matsu whispered, and Minato turned to look at her. To his surprise, she was almost a shadow of her normal self; her shoulders were drawn in, her head hanging low. "Now that the second stage has started...there's nowhere to run. There's a real risk that you could be challenged by other Ashikabi who are looking for the last few un-winged Sekirei—or who want to get rid of the competition."_

"_I wasn't planning on running in the first place, Matsu-san," Minato said. His voice was even, his posture calm and untroubled. Matsu, bewildered, broke out of her funk to stare at him. "I made a promise to Musubi. I'm gonna stay and see this through with her, and all of you. And once the plan is over, I'll do whatever it takes to beat that smug asshole Minaka."_

_Matsu let her glasses slide further down the bridge of her nose, and hardened her eyes. "Mina-tan, I'm serious! Literally, no Sekirei and no Ashikabi can leave the city anymore. MBI will have guards posted everywhere to look out for them. If we try to run, we'll be forced to stay, or even terminated. If Yukari-tan has second thoughts about the plan, then she can't get away either."_

_Minato almost asked how she knew his sister was even an Ashikabi since they hadn't met at dinner that night, but he filed it under "stuff Matsu just knows thanks to her computers" and didn't bother asking. "Well, I doubt she'd run, either. My sister's stubborn. If I'm going to stay here and fight, you can bet she will too."_

_Matsu frowned, and almost said something else, but Tsukiumi, of all people, cut in, leaning forward and smacking her hands on the table. The platters shook slightly, but she paid no mind to that. "Enough!" she said. "If my husband has declared that we have no intention of leaving, then it is so. You are his Sekirei too, are you not? Do you have no faith in his ability?"_

_Musubi nodded and leaned forward as well, a determined smile on her face. "Tsukiumi-san is right. We have to believe in Minato! He said he was going to help me win, but we're all a team now, so he'll help all of us win!" After a moment of silence, she added, "And he's my husband too!"_

_Tsukiumi barely managed to hold back the growl that nearly made its way out of her throat, while Akitsu stared directly at Minato and Musubi, and Kusano clutched Minato's shirt with a quivering frown. Silently, Minato shifted his gaze to Miya, pleading for a little help, and in reply, she put on her best wide smile. "Now, everyone, we should be eating. Why don't we turn off the TV?"_

_As usual, the landlady's tone brooked no argument. Uzume silently lifted the remote and did precisely that before she started paying an uncommon amount of attention to her plate; Minato's Sekirei ended their staring contest to follow Uzume's example. Minato nodded in silent thanks to Miya, and she replied by relaxing her smile and giving him her own pointed glance._

_Minato saw it, and sighed. That last argument had pretty much proven it. His Sekirei were officially at e__ach others' throats now. He would have to step in and lay down the law._

* * *

**Shintou Teitou University**

**2020**

**Monday, 10:30 AM**

As part of the plan that they had all agreed on, Musubi, Tsukiumi, and Akitsu would all split up and hang around the campus to make sure that Minato could move safely from class to class without fear of an ambush; one of them would stay near him while the other two would branch out. Matsu had provided Tsukiumi and Akitsu with cellphones, already programed with Minato and Musubi's numbers. At the moment, Akitsu was hanging around near the center of campus, while Musubi was watching the building where Minato's next class would be from the rooftop of another one nearby.

Tsukiumi, currently on main guard duty, was inside the building where Minato was currently in his math class, sitting quietly on a bench outside his classroom. Her arms were folded, and a thoughtful pout was crossing her face. "To think that I would have to negotiate time with my own husband,"she said, tossing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "A sad sight this is, indeed." A boy walking by stopped to stare at her, and Tsukiumi raised her head once she felt his eyes on her. The violent narrowing of her eyes and the furrow between her brows quickly drove him off, and she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And the attentions of these fools... Would that I could make them understand I am no porcelain doll to be admired."

She had no time to switch back into her brooding posture, though, as the door on her right opened up. Immediately, she turned her attention to the line of people filing out of it, though she made a point of only looking from the corner of her eye. Soon enough, Minato emerged with a weak smile on his face, and Tsukiumi stood up gracefully, folding her arms as she looked up at him. "And how did it go, Minato?" she asked, frowning as usual. "You were studying for a test in this class earlier, were you not? You seemed terribly worried."

Minato shook his head. "I managed all right, Tsukiumi-san. It wasn't anything complicated. Studying paid off, but I was still kind of nervous. We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. Are Musubi and Akitsu-san in position?"

"They are." Tsukiumi's pout grew more distinct. "And, must I tell you again? You need not stand on formality with me. Simply call me Tsukiumi, as you do with Musubi."

Minato's lips twitched. "It took a while before I was comfortable enough to do that. It's not really out of disrespect for you or anything..."

The rest of his words were cut off when Tsukiumi stormed into his personal space and glared up at him. She was clearly blushing, but at the same time, her eyebrows were drawn into an angry slant. "I am glad that you respect me, but it is my wish that you simply call me Tsukiumi. Is that one request truly so difficult for you to heed?"

Minato let his eyes dart around, pressing his lips together. Tsukiumi refused to break eye contact with him, and he sighed. "For right now, yes. And I'm really sorry about that. I just..."

Tsukiumi sucked a tooth and spun around, walking down the hallway. Her dress flared out around her as she turned. "We should be on our way to your next class. Musubi waits on us, and I shudder to think what trouble that scatterbrain could find herself in with such lecherous louts as your classmates wandering about."

Minato felt his stomach flop at the scorned tone in her voice, but two weeks of getting to know the proud Sekirei had taught him that she wasn't going to listen to a word he had to say, until she was ready to. Shifting the strap of his satchel, Minato followed in Tsukiumi's wake, eyes cast to the ground. He could feel people staring at both him and her as they made their way out of the building, across the campus, and to his next class, but no one said a word to either of them; aside from a few people, Tsukiumi's reputation and temperament had become well-known amongst the Shinteidai students, enough so that no one wanted to even come close to her—and, by proxy, him. If he had been the type to be concerned about his popularity, it would have really bothered him, but the Sekirei Plan had more or less supplanted any desire he had to make any friends.

As they approached the building, Musubi looked down at them from the rooftop, then hopped over the edge and landed right in front of Tsukiumi with only the slightest sound. The blonde Sekirei jumped back, then shook her head, snarled, and punched Musubi in the back of the head. After her hand bounced off of Musubi's skull, Tsukiumi winced, shaking it slightly before she folded her arms and glared at Musubi. "Fool! Are you mad, jumping around in plain sight? What if you had been seen?"

"No one here pays attention to us anymore, Tsukiumi-san," Musubi said. "They're usually too busy ignoring you and anything around you. It's probably because you keep staring at them like they stole your food."

Tsukiumi's growl couldn't have sounded more beastly, but rather than speak again, she simply stormed off, waving a hand in disgust. "My part is done. Minato, go. You have matters to attend to away from here, do you not?"

Minato reached out to her, but stopped when he saw that she clearly wasn't going to turn around. He grimaced and pressed a palm to his face, then shook his head. "Damn it."

Sensing her Ashikabi's distress, Musubi put a gentle hand on his shoulder. When he started, she shook her head. "Talk to her later, Minato. Right now, you really have to go to class."

Minato wanted to argue the point for a moment, but Musubi's unusually stern gaze made him hold his tongue, and he nodded. "Then, I'll see you when I'm done, Musubi," he said.

Musubi smiled and squeezed both of Minato's shoulders with her gloved hands, then patted them. "Take care, Minato."

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**Monday, 5 PM**

Minato sighed as he pushed open the front door of the Inn with Musubi and the others in tow. His math test had left him almost totally drained that morning, and the rest of the day had been just as tiring. He wanted to do something that had nothing to do with school for a while. He and the girls stopped at the foyer and removed their shoes, but right as they stepped into the house proper, Miya came around the corner with three empty canvas bags. "Welcome home, Sahashi-san," she said, smiling. "How was school today?"

"Same as always," Minato said. He stifled a yawn and rubbed his face. "I think I need a quick nap before I train anyone today. Math is really not fun."

"Well, I already have a job for Musubi-san and the others in the meantime, so go right ahead," Miya said, placing each bag in one of the girls' hands. "By the time you wake up, they should be on their way back."

Minato raised an eyebrow, but Miya didn't do anything except smile a bit wider, and he immediately got the feeling that whatever was going to happen was probably not something he wanted to get too involved in. So, he nodded, and went straight for the stairs. Once he was out of earshot, Miya turned to the girls, placing her now empty hands behind her back. "Now, girls," she said, "with the addition of yet another mouth to our little group home, I've found myself hard-pressed with the shopping these last two weeks, if only because some people can't eat as if they were raised with manners."

Musubi blinked, missing the insinuation entirely, while Akitsu gave a sidelong glance to Tsukumi. Tsukiumi's reply was to growl menacingly and stare back. Before either of them could act, though, Miya let her aura flare up slightly, and all three of the Sekirei focused their attention back on her. "I've also noticed that despite the fact that all three of you spend an entire day with Sahashi-san, you are all completely incapable of acting like civilized young ladies when it comes to dinnertime." Miya's brow darkened slightly even as she kept on her smile, causing Musubi and Akitsu to shrink into themselves. "How is it possible that you always fight about who sits with Sahashi-san? Do you know what a poor example you set for Kusano by acting like children?"

Tsukiumi opened her mouth to respond, but Miya simply focused her smile a little differently, and Tsukumi's skin began to crawl so unpleasantly that she shut her mouth with a slight click of teeth. Satisfied, Miya continued her speech. "So, I've decided that your nervous energy can be best put to use by making you all replenish our groceries. I will give you each a list and expect you to stay under budget while picking up every single item. The first one back here with all of their items _in one piece _shall be the one that gets the seat. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Landlady-sama," Musubi said, clenching her fist.

"Yes," Akitsu said, nodding.

"Crystal clear, Landlady-sama," Tsukiumi muttered, folding her arms and pouting.

"Your lists are in your bags, and so is your money," Miya said, waving gently at the door. "Go on, now. If you waste time, Sahashi-san will be done with his nap before you all get halfway there, and he wants to train with Musubi-san, remember?"

Without a word, Tsukiumi slipped back into her boots and rushed off like a madwoman possessed. Akitsu immediately followed, not even bothering to put on her slippers. Musubi gasped, slung her bag around her shoulder, and grabbed her boots, hopping out of the door as she tried to pull one of them on with the other tucked beneath her arm.

Miya sighed, but the smile never left her face. She looked to the stairs, shaking her head. "Ah, young love."

* * *

**Monday, 5:24 PM**

Minato groaned as he rolled out of his futon, pressing his palms to his eyes. The nap had done him some good, but he still felt a little worn down; it was a feeling more and more familiar to him the longer he had to try and operate normally under the stresses of the Sekirei Plan. MBI's presence everywhere in the city was an unwelcome strain, far worse than dealing with school. After running a hand through his hair, Minato slowly made his way downstairs, scratching his bottom. Right as he got into the foyer, the front doors burst open and Musubi leaped into the house, a huge smile stretching across her face. "I won!" she shouted, spinning around on one foot like a ballerina. The bag on her shoulder spun as well, fanning out in a wide arc."Yeah!"

Akitsu and Tsukiumi came in right behind her, their bags equally full, but their expressions couldn't have been more different from Musubi's. Akitsu's face was impassive, but her eyes betrayed a slight edge of disappointment. Tsukiumi's eyes were almost pinched shut in her anger, and her mouth was twisted into a harsh frown. "That damned strumpet," Tsukiumi said to herself, her voice barely rising above a growl. "How was I so easily outpaced? Vexing beyond words, that she so easily..."

Ignoring Tsukiumi, Musubi stopped spinning and latched onto Minato with a happy giggle, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Hello, Minato!"

"Hello to you too," Minato said. "So you 'won', huh? What were you doing?"

"The landlady had us race for groceries," Akitsu said, lowering her head slightly. "Musubi was faster than us. She gets to sit next to you at dinner, Minato-sama."

"But only this once!" Tsukiumi shouted, her hair flaring upwards. "I will die ere I let any strumpet take my place at my husband's side again!"

Minato's eyes tightened, and he gently put his hands on Musubi's back. Understanding the meaning behind his gesture, Musubi let him go, and Minato immediately faced Tsukiumi with a hard glare, folding his arms. "Tsukiumi-san, you're my Sekirei just like Musubi, Akitsu-san, Matsu-san and Kuu-chan. That means that you don't get the right to look down on them, and they don't get the right to look down on you. I don't intend to say this again. Am I understood?"

Tsukiumi seemed taken aback at first, but eventually recovered from her shock enough to nod. "You are."

At that precise moment, Miya came from the back part of the inn. She was _smiling. _"Why, Sahashi-san, I couldn't agree more," she said. "I think that if Tsukiumi-san is so intent on forgetting her manners, I might be able to help her recall them."

"With all respect, Asama-san, I think Tsukiumi-san and I have managed to come to an understanding. And if we haven't after all—" he gave Tsukiumi a sharp glance, and she flushed bright red—"I would be glad to accept your help."

Miya's smile relaxed, and she nodded. "Sounds like a plan, then. I'll leave you to it." She collected the shopping bags from Minato's Sekirei, then went back towards the kitchen, humming a soft tune underneath her breath. Minato then turned to Musubi, and said, "Let me go upstairs to change. Go do your warm-up exercises in the yard."

Musubi nodded and skipped off to do as he'd asked. Akitsu looked at Musubi's back for a moment, her brow shifting slightly, then turned to Minato. "I...would like to join you today, Minato-sama," she said, bowing at the waist. "I know that Musubi is your student, but..."

Minato laughed. "Relax, Akitsu-san," he said, and Akitsu lifted her head, a small frown crossing her face for a brief moment. "I don't mind at all. In fact, if you practice hard enough you might be able to catch up to where Musubi is, if you really want to. Even if you don't, just the meditation might be good for you." The look in his eye became slightly distant. "In fact, it might be good for everyone..."

If Minato was looking at Akitsu, he would have seen the excited sparkle that flashed in her eyes. "Thank you, Minato-sama. I will go and wait with Musubi." With that, she bowed and excused herself, leaving only Tsukiumi and Minato in the hallway. The blonde Sekirei blushed violently at the fact that they were now alone, but before she could say a word, Minato wandered off upstairs, still lost in thought. After a second, Tsukiumi just sighed and took off her boots, setting them next to Akitsu's slippers and Musubi's boots before she went to the yard to join her fellow Sekirei.

At the top of the stairs, Matsu came out of her room with a perplexed frown on her face, just stopping herself from walking straight into Minato. Minato immediately noticed the lack of a smile on Matsu's face, and frowned as well. "Are you all right, Matsu-san? You seem worried about something."

Matsu blinked a few times, then shook her head, sighing as she adjusted her glasses. "Well, I kind of am, Minato-sama," she said, rubbing one eye with a bleary frown. "Do you have a moment? I need to talk to you about something."

Minato immediately gave Matsu a once-over, noting the stiffness of her posture, before nodding. "Musubi just came back from a shopping trip," he said, smiling softly. "She and Akitsu-san are waiting for me downstairs. Do you mind waiting until later tonight?"

"Right after dinner then, Minato-sama," she replied, returning the smile with a thin one of her own. Minato saw her shoulders relax significantly, but the rest of her body still held a lingering tension. "Make sure that everyone else comes with you, too. OK?"

Minato nodded. "OK."

* * *

Down in the yard, Musubi and Akitsu were sitting together on the ground, while Tsukiumi, Kusano, Kagari, and Uzume were watching the two of them perform breathing exercises. However, Tsukiumi was only sparing a glance from the corner of her eyes every now and then, preferring to stare angrily at the porch as she leaned against the door frame.

For Akitsu, it had been quite an experience. She knew that in matters of martial arts, Musubi's normal hyper-activity and ditzy behavior could be directed to significantly more productive ends. But it was quite another thing to have Musubi, of all people, calmly and gently instruct her on the art of breathing. With the brunette Sekirei's guidance, Akitsu had easily settled into a pattern, and could feel the normal surge of cold that came from making her ice in the pit of her stomach. It had never been a problem for her to control it since the incident, but she had never felt this...in-tune with it before.

It was the first good memory she could actually associate with her 'mastery' of her power.

Footsteps sounded on the porch, and Musubi stood up, turning to face Minato and Matsu as they came out onto the porch. Minato was dressed in his gi, and smiled warmly at his two Sekirei as Akitsu got up from the ground, dusting off her pants. Minato looked to Musubi first, then to Akitsu. "You two ready to roll?"

"Yes, Minato-shishou!" Musubi said, grinning.

"Yes, Minato-shishou," Akitsu said.

Minato nodded, then stepped back. "Musubi! Show me a Hayate."

Musubi immediately sank into her stance, taking a breath before she yanked her fist backward, with a sharp rustling of cloth. Her foot slid slightly, crunching the dirt beneath her foot. Akitsu felt something surge when Musubi took a breath, and moved to the side alongside Minato. Musubi then extended her free hand and opened it wide before turning it sharply. Then, she stepped, and shouted from her stomach, punching in sync with her shout and her movement. "CHESTO!"

Minato could feel it, the rippling of her energy through the air and the steadiness of her blow; even her braking was spot-on."That's it! Excellent!" he said, grinning widely. "You're ready to move on. I'll show you the next move as soon as I get Akitsu-san started. In the meantime, keep practicing that."

Musubi loosened for a moment, sinking back into a stance, before re-composing herself. "Yes, Minato-shishou!"

Minato then turned to Akitsu, shrinking his grin just a little bit. "OK, Akitsu-san. I know you've been watching us practice for a while, but since you're new to this, I need you to follow my lead, all right?" Akitsu nodded, and Minato came closer, within arm's reach. "Let me show you how to do this stance, then. First, spread your feet..."

As Minato's hands guided her limbs, Akitsu felt a blush come to her face. Aside from clutching onto him in his sleep, she didn't make a habit of touching him very often, so the sensation of his broad palms helping direct her movement was still deliriously new for her. _Warm, _she thought, then blinked as she realized that his calloused palms were no longer touching her. She focused her attention on the outside world again, physically willing her blush to fade as she tried to memorize the way her arms and legs were positioned. At her side, Minato stepped back a bit, examining her. "Now, do you remember what I had Musubi doing when I started with her?" he asked. "You need to hold this stance somewhat while you do those breathing exercises. Remember, it's all right to move a little bit, but if you move too much, then you're not doing it correctly."

Akitsu nodded again, but her mind was already focused on maintaining her breathing. The strangely pleasant sensation of the cold rising and falling in the pit of her belly began to spread throughout her body, but as always, it remained under her control. She could understand why Minato was so intent on having Musubi start and end the training sessions with the breathing exercises now. Being so in tune with one's own "self" would no doubt go a long way in helping to regulate and monitor one's own strength; for someone like Musubi, that regular restriction and control over her internal power would go a long way.

After watching her for a few moments, Minato let Akitsu continue her exercises, walking over to Musubi. "All right, Musubi, that's enough. I think it's time for your next techniques. I'm going to show you two of them since they're relatively simple as compared to the Hayate, so you shouldn't have any problems pulling them off. First off is the Rising Justice Fist, the Fukiage." He took a breath, then spread his legs out into a horse stance and punched upward with his left fist, shouting loudly. Musubi immediately recognized it as the punch Yukari had used to knock him into the air during their short spar weeks ago. When he relaxed his body and stood straight up again, Minato rolled his shoulders, smiling at the rapt attention on her face. "You can do it with either hand, but the most important part is to synchronize your breathing and your moment, just like always." He then took his stance again, and after taking another breath, he raised his rear hand and swung it into a forward chop, crouching into the blow and shaking the ground when he struck it. Musubi jumped slightly, as did everyone else watching them, while Akitsu was unperturbed, continuing her breath exercises without stopping. "That was the second move, the Falling Hand Blade Strike, Oroshi. It's a strong move, but the more power you put into it, the slower you have to do it in order to synchronize your ki and the blow."

Musubi nodded, then took her stance, immediately raising her rear hand and dropping into an Oroshi with an excited shout. Unlike Minato's, though, there was no force behind her strike when she hit the ground; she blinked and made a questioning hum, then looked up at Minato with wide, puppy-dog eyes.

"Your breathing is poor," Minato replied. He snapped his hand back as if he were going to do another Oroshi. "You need to do it like this." He gently brought his hand down, performing the move in slow motion and evenly releasing his breath. "Now, you try it."

Musubi did just that, and Minato watched her until he was satisfied with her progress; he then turned his attention back to Akitsu for a while, becoming absorbed in correcting her slight flaws in breathing and posture. From the porch, Tsukiumi snorted to herself, standing fully upright instead of leaning on the doorframe, and glared at the scene before her. "To think that I allowed myself to be joined to a man who spends no time with me and plays teacher to those concubines," she said, her voice low. "At least he is accomplished as a fighter if nothing else."

Uzume chuckled, rolling onto her back from her stomach. "Sounding pretty bitter there, blondie. You know, Sahashi-chan will let ya join in if you ask."

Tsukiumi simply stared at the other Sekirei like she'd grown a second head. While fighting was prohibited at Izumo Inn, Tsukiumi never quite let her guard down around Uzume; any Sekirei that wasn't Minato's was, or could become, an enemy, and that merited caution. "I have no interest in those physical arts. I have all the power I need."

"Ain't nothing if you can't apply it, Tsukki," Uzume said, looking up at the ceiling with a smile. However, if one looked at her closely, they would see the briefest tinges of regret and sadness twist around the edge of her mouth, pulling the corners tightly into her face and pressing her lips together tightly. "But hey, you do what you like. When it comes down to it, it really isn't my business."

Tsukiumi rolled her eyes, but didn't move or reply, continuing to stare at Minato, Musubi, and Akitsu with the same harsh frown.

* * *

**Monday, 7:30 PM**

After practice, dinner, and baths, Minato and his Sekirei all met in Matsu's room. A cheap sign, scrawled on a scrap of paper, was pasted to the wall that served as the door to Matsu's room, saying "Matsu's War Room is in Session, Please Stay Out". Inside, Matsu was seated in front of her computer wall, pulling up multiple Sekirei files before turning to Minato and the others, who were sitting in a semicircle around her, with a grim frown on her face. "These are MBI's files on terminated Sekirei from the Sekirei Plan," she said to the group, adjusting her glasses. "I've been monitoring them since the start of the second stage, mostly because I'm concerned about what competition we may have to face in the future, and I noticed some very odd things." She picked up a pointer from seemingly nowhere and pointed it at a specific section of one of the profiles that was pulled up. "As you can see here, the level of injury a Sekirei took prior to their termination is listed here—and almost all of these cases are near-fatal levels of damage. What's really abnormal, though, is _this._" She slid her pointer down to the line below the damage report; it was completely blank. "This spot is supposed to have the name and number of the Sekirei that terminated this one. But it's blank, just like the rest of these profiles I have here."

Minato frowned and stared at the profile, while Musubi and Kusano blinked and Tsukiumi mimicked Minato's action. "I don't really get it. So MBI doesn't know who terminated them. Why is that odd?"

"Clearly the victorious Sekirei did not stay till MBI came for the body of the defeated one; otherwise, MBI would have confirmed that information immediately, " Tsukiumi replied, her brow darkening as it furrowed. "Sekirei are taught to stand by the bodies of their defeated foes, Minato. Surely you have seen this before? It is a rule that no Sekirei would dare break—except this shameless cur, whoever they are." Even while sitting, Tsukiumi's arms were folded, and her hands gripped her biceps as she continued to speak. "To violate the sanctity of this battle...no, they are worse than shameless. Someone such as this cannot be allowed to taint the Sekirei Plan."

"Tsukiumi-san, it's already pretty tainted," Minato said, giving her a flat, pointed stare. "Recall that this entire thing is a bloodsport being run as some cockamamie contest by a man who is veritably insane. I didn't think you'd actually fallen out of touch with reality so badly."

Tsukiumi's retort was sharp, even for her, as she returned Minato's look with a stare of her own. "I did not forget our discussion regarding this, Minato. But that does not change the fact that this mysterious fighter is both breaking the rules and could potentially be a dangerous opponent—if we do not know who they are, we could encounter them by chance and be completely defeated. Regardless of your feelings about the Sekirei Plan, this Sekirei must be uncovered and stopped." She stood up, projecting her usual aura of superiority. "I intend to go and find them."

"I'll go too!" Musubi said, standing up with clenched fists. "Someone like that is probably super strong!"

"Neither of you are going anywhere."

Minato's words made both Tsukiumi and Musubi flinch, but only the blonde Sekirei whipped her head toward him, ready to argue. The words on her lips died the moment their gazes locked; the gray in his eyes was flinty and hard-edged like in the second dream they'd shared before they met, brooking no argument. "If this Sekirei, whoever they are, is attacking other Sekirei with the intent to terminate them, we're not going anywhere near them. In fact, I think that the reason Matsu-san was willing to tell me about this in the first place was specifically so that I could warn the rest of you off from doing something stupid." He looked at Matsu for a moment, and she nodded with a soft half-smile. His theory satisfied, he then surveyed his other Sekirei, his expression softening just slightly. "Of course we'll keep an eye out for someone suspicious. But no one here is going to go out on a wild goose chase for this other Sekirei. It's too dangerous. Is that clear?"

Both Tsukiumi and Musubi nodded, as did Akitsu and Kusano. With a satisfied smile on his face, Minato stood up. "Well, I've got some homework to finish for tomorrow, so I'll go get started on it. Matsu-san, thanks for your hard work. Everyone, don't stay up too late. Tomorrow's another long day."

With that, he left, and Kusano quickly tottered out behind him with a playful spring in her step. Tsukiumi, Musubi, and Akitsu didn't move, though, not until the wall slid back into place and Minato's footsteps were barely audible in the hallway. Once she was certain he was gone, Tsukiumi looked over to Matsu, then to the monitors. "Is there anything you can tell us about the movements of this mysterious Sekirei? Mayhap their targets were all found in close proximity to one another...?"

"Nothing like that, no," Matsu said, sighing and pushing her glasses up to rub at her eyes. There were dark bags beneath her bottom eyelids, and she had to stifle a yawn after a moment. "I've been looking over this data for a while, and I can't find any real links or similarities between the Sekirei that were targeted, except for the fact that each Ashikabi only had that one Sekirei. That's even more dangerous, to be honest—it could mean that almost anyone is their next target." As she slid her glasses back down, she gave Tsukiumi a pointed glance. "You aren't thinking about ignoring Mina-tan's orders, are you? Even if he can't physically stop you from going, I can promise you that you don't want to push him too far. You saw that look in his eyes before, didn't you?"

"I am well acquainted with it," Tsukiumi said, mumbling the words almost under her breath. "Needless to say I am not particularly _eager_ to invite it upon myself..."

"Then you'll simply have to listen to what Mina-tan told you to do," Matsu replied. "If you don't, then he'll probably give you a look that'll make that one look a puppy-dog pout."

Tsukiumi's cheek twitched, but she didn't say anything else. Matsu snickered, hiding her mouth behind one hand, at the blonde Sekirei's frustration.

* * *

**Shintou Teitou: Hiyamakai Hospital**

**Wednesday, 3 PM**

Uzume had never been fond of places like the hospital. Call it an ingrained response to the environment that the Sekirei had been living in since they were small, but any room that was pure white and smelled as clean as the hospital room she was in right now made her feel edgy enough to hop out of a window instead of come up through it. Still, she hadn't been to see Chiho since last Saturday, and she would probably get an assignment from _him_ sometime soon. Best to see her Ashikabi now, rather than later.

As she quietly closed the window behind her, Uzume looked directly at the bed where Chiho was sleeping, her sandy-blonde hair spilling out on the pillows and her pale skin glowing slightly in the barely-lit room. With a crooked smile, Uzume approached the bed and gently kissed her Ashikabi's forehead, then straightened up, sighing softly.

"Chi-chan...I'm sorry I didn't come by this morning like I usually do. I was...a little busy." Uzume's voice bounced off of the blank white walls, and her hands balled into a pair of matching fists as she remembered how just that morning she had terminated yet another Sekirei as part of her "job". Even here, in this place, the memory of her white shawls being painted red wouldn't go away, and she hated herself for even bringing those dirty thoughts close to her Ashikabi. "But, you know, lately, things at the Inn have been great. Akitsu-san finally joined in with Musubi-san and Sahashi-chan with his whole Karate thing. It's so cute, watching her do the breathing exercises and seeing him show her how to punch and kick and everything. And Musubi-san is practicing this one chop, but she can never get it right at full speed, so she has to go super slowly all the time and breathe out really slow. It's like watching a fish at an aquarium make faces."

Chiho's eyes remained closed, and her chest rose and fell beneath the pristine covers of her bed. When Uzume's eyes fell on the sheets, she saw her own shawls in her mind's eye again, and pushed the image out of mind before blood stained it again. "More than anything, Chi-chan...Chiho...I want you to meet them. All of them. You'd love them. They're always so happy, and Kuu-chan is so cute..." She pressed the back of one hand to her left eye, then her right. Her throat felt like it was swelling up with words that she couldn't get out, but she managed to keep on talking, pushing the words out bit by bit. "She loves those costumes I got. The other day, she was bouncing around in the wagtail one, and that smile...that smile could light up the night for years. It was beautiful."

As she stood there, trying not to cry any more, Uzume suddenly heard a distinctive set of footsteps from the other side of the door. Hastily, she bent down and kissed Chiho again, this time on the lips, and whispered, "I'll be back to see you soon." Then, she walked to the door and left the room as casually as she could, just in time to meet a man in a white suit with dark hair and glasses in the hallway.

"Not as punctual as normal, I see," he said, smiling at her. "What's the matter?"

"I was busy doing your boss's dirty work like always, is what the matter was," Uzume replied. Her voice had taken on an angry bite, and her shoulders were stiff, forming a complete contrast to the playful Uzume from Izumo Inn and the sensitive Uzume that only Chiho could bring out. "Now if you've got another job for me, tell me what I need to know and get the hell out of my face. I'm not in the mood for games today."

Chuckling, the man produced a photograph of a woman with long dark hair tied into a ponytail by a green, beaded string. She wore a purple dress with a pattern of X's on the shoulders that exposed the skin beneath the fabric, and her eyes were sharp and narrow, set above a thinly-smiling mouth on a mature face. "This is number 03, Kazehana. She may be high-ranked, but she has no Ashikabi, so she should be easy enough for you to defeat. In addition, you are to seek out number 19, Ikki, and number 95, Kuno. And do be quick about it. Mr. Higa doesn't appreciate slowness and he is still keeping quite the eye on your Ashikabi."

Uzume took the photograph and spun around sharply, causing her long hair to move from her back and exposing the yellow "10" written on the back of her shirt. She then went back into Chiho's room without saying a word, nearly slamming the door shut. The man in glasses simply chuckled and adjusted his tie, then walked down the hall to the elevator.

"Number 10...quite willful, as always. But, ultimately, still obedient."

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**Wednesday, 5:15 PM**

Minato's day had been relatively quiet so far, and he was thankful for it on a level he never would have appreciated before school started. It had been two days since Matsu's warning about the mysterious Sekirei, and his firm warning against taking action had a clear effect on his own partners—whenever they were out on the street in the morning or the evening, Musubi, Akitsu, and Tsukiumi would each keep an eye out on everyone that passed them by, as if they could find the attacker by sight alone.

At the moment, the three girls were out on a shopping race, and Uzume and Homura were both absent, leaving Minato to help Miya sweep off the porch and hang up the laundry while Kusano and Matsu did whatever they usually did. The work was light and pleasant, and the sheer physicality of it kept his mind off of mental work for once; it was refreshing and he loved the chance to not think about school or worry about the Sekirei Plan for a while.

"Ah, Sahashi-san," Miya said, turning away from the sheet she'd just pinned to the clothesline. "When you get a moment, could you give me a few of those linens in that basket over here?"

Minato immediately put down the broom and did as Miya asked, coming to her with an armful of the lighter sheets and blankets in the basket. Miya plucked each one from the pile and clipped it to the line with practiced ease and speed, humming a song under her breath. As a gentle wind blew through the yard and the house, Kusano came out of the hall in a brown mouse suit, waddling down the steps and over to Minato.

"Onii-chan, lookie~" she said, poking Minato in the leg. "Uzu-nee-chan gave me another costume to play with~"

Once Miya took the last sheet from him, Minato bent down and rubbed Kusano's head with a grin, causing her to squeal and bat her arms at him. "It looks really cute on you. Did you say thank you to Uzume-san?"

"Of course Kuu did. She is good with manners!"

Miya chuckled as she clipped another sheet to the line. "We know, Kuu-chan. We know."

As the little girl beamed and waddled off, Minato stood up with a slight grunt, dusting some invisible dirt from the knees of his jeans. "One of these days I ought to ask Uzume-san where she got all of those suits from. She never did tell me when I asked her before."

Miya's smile dimmed slightly as she turned away from the clothesline. "Well, someone...important to her seems to enjoy it when she wears them," the landlady said. "That person rarely gets to see Uzume-san, so every moment they spend together tends to be a lot of playing around with those costumes." Her expression became even more thoughtful as she recalled how Uzume would come to her, dressed in one of those costumes with a broad, and sometimes teary, smile on her face.

The sadness in her voice gave Minato pause as he stopped to consider who could possibly be so important to Uzume, but soon enough, he figured it out. "You're talking about her Ashikabi."

Miya nodded once. "I won't share any more than that. If you want to know, you need to find out from her. You should be well aware that you may not get an answer you'll like."

Minato's lips quirked into an uncertain frown, but instead of speaking, he simply stared away from Miya, releasing a quiet breath from his mouth. "That's the way it happens sometimes, I suppose," he said, walking back to the half-swept porch.

Miya watched his back with the same inscrutable expression on her face, then looked up to the sky and closed her eyes. _Indeed, Sahashi-san. Indeed._

* * *

**Wednesday, 7:30 PM**

Uzume sighed in both relief and annoyance as she came through the front doors of Izumo Inn and took her socks off. The Sekirei she'd been forced to terminate before visiting Chiho had put up quite a fight, and all of the time she'd had left to herself after meeting that bastard at the hospital was 'reserved' for trying to find any of the Sekirei that she was supposed to be targeting. In the end, she'd been unable to make any headway during the search, and was more than ready to take a shower and collapse into her futon.

The hallways were empty, as everyone had already eaten and dispersed for the evening; Uzume therefore went straight for the baths. On the door to the showers, a sign saying "Ladies' Time" was posted in clear sight; it was part of a system Miya devised to make sure that no one walked in on Minato taking a bath accidentally (or deliberately). Even if it hadn't been up, Uzume's hearing was good enough to hear the faint echoes of his voice outside in the yard, shouting out kiai as he went through a Rindoukan form. Smiling for a brief moment, Uzume quickly slid the door open and went over to the nearby wall of shelves, where she stripped off her clothes and placed them in one of the baskets. Her weary frown became a nasty grimace when she looked at the now-torn up cuffs of her capri pants and saw a bloodstain there; quickly, she turned the pants over, hiding the stain, and grabbed a towel before heading into the baths proper.

"Oh, hello, Uzume-san!" Musubi said, smiling widely and waving Uzume over to the tub where she and Tsukiumi were steaming together, their hair and torsos wrapped with towels. Tsukiumi looked up at Uzume and grunted, but offered a jerky nod of her head regardless before going back to stare at the water.

"Heya, Musubi," Uzume replied, allowing some authentic cheer back into her voice. "What's eating blondie?"

Musubi tilted her head slightly and continued to smile. "Tsukiumi-san's just being Tsukiumi-san. Minato invited her to practice with us and she said _'I have no need for that, Minato'_, but then she couldn't stop watching us train and even left halfway through. I wanted her to stay but she just gave me this look like I said a bad word."

"Did you even take a breath betwixt all that babble?" Tsukiumi muttered, adjusting the towel on her head as Uzume slid into the bath. "I already explained why I would not benefit from Minato's training, did I not? I am not a physical fighter like you. It would be pointless for me to partake of training that does not increase my control over my power."

"Akitsu-san is the same way, but she still practices with us," Musubi replied. "She says that the breathing exercises make her feel like she's using her power without actually using it, and it's really calming. Just try it once before you say it doesn't work." She folded her arms and pouted cutely. "It's not healthy to be a big grouchy meanie all the time."

Uzume's laugh could be heard through the walls of the entire first floor. Matsu, coming inside from watching Minato practice a few advanced forms he would be teaching to Musubi eventually, heard it and decided to peek in to see what was going on. When she looked inside of the bathroom, she noticed the basket with Uzume's clothes leaning out of the shelf like it was going to fall, and quickly moved to catch it before it spilled out onto the ground. In the process, she saw a tiny hint of the caked red stain on the pant leg, and her eyes narrowed.

Quietly, Matsu tore a small piece of the bloodstained pant leg loose from the rest of the cloth, then put the basket back and left for upstairs, her face set in a bemused frown as her mind went into overdrive.

_It's coincidental...but it's not impossible. She wasn't here this morning, and has been gone a lot with 'work'. It's entirely possible that she could have been gone long enough... _Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she came off the last step and turned toward her room. _But I don't have evidence. At least, not yet. At the very least, I may be able to identify this DNA. If it matches the bloodtype of one of the missing Sekirei, then..._

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Got a little caught up in work yesterday, so I wasn't able to sit down and put this out like I wanted to; here it is now, before I get a little bogged down again. __Surprisingly, we're coming up to the end of the story now, as I slightly overestimated just how long it was going to take for me to cover the events of the first anime. Personally, that's fine with me, since I'd like to give the manga some more time to develop before I even think about writing a Part 2 to this story._

With that said, it's highly likely that the next story I work on will be the long-awaited Substitute School: Second Semester, but in the intervening time I may finally put up a one-shot that I've been struggling with, if I can finish it. I'd like to get a good buffer started, though, so I can't promise anything right now.

_Review Response:_

_As usual, thanks to those that are still with me and just enjoyed Ch. 10 without any questions._

_Tobi (Ch. 10): I don't answer those kinds of questions. You'll just have to wait and see._

_And with that, I'll take my leave. Chapter 12 is out around January 19th, so keep your eyes open. See you then._

_~ZS_


	12. A Wagtail on a Flowery Wind

_**Shinto Teitou Central Hospital**_

_**2020**_

_**3 PM**_

_The things that Uzume remembered most about Chiho from their first meeting were her beauty, her smile, and her undying loneliness._

_Said first meeting hadn't been long after Uzume had been released from Teitou Tower. She'd gone wandering the city in search of her Ashikabi, not knowing what to expect or what to look for. Unlike a lot of other Sekirei, her clothing was a bit too unusual for her to go traveling on the streets—all she had on were two strips of white cloth, laid in an X pattern over and around her breasts, a white miniskirt, white thigh-high boots, and white opera gloves. Therefore, she'd avoided the sidewalks and roads, maneuvering between buildings and skyscrapers as quickly and quietly as she could given her clothing. Eventually, leaping between roofs wore her out enough for her to take a break in a tree atop a hill, overlooking a grassy place that she would later recognize as the private park reserved for patients at Shintou Teitou Central Hospital. She leaned against the thick bark of the tree with a sigh, remembering all of the things that she had been told about the Sekirei Plan and finding an Ashikabi._

"_Is that really all we're good for?" Uzume muttered, pressing the heels of her hands against her cheeks. Curses threatened to bubble from her lips and into the air. "Fighting? Surviving to the end? How are we supposed to even enjoy whatever time we get with our Ashikabi if we can't even stay with them as long as we win? And what gives us the right to break up Sekirei and their Ashikabi?" _

_It was then that Uzume heard a sound coming from below her, and she looked down, a curious hum in her throat. That was when she saw Chiho for the first time, sitting in a wheelchair and staring at the sky. The dress and hat she wore rippled slightly as a wind passed by, and Uzume felt her face flush and burn as if the sun was shining straight on her. Quietly, the Sekirei dropped out of the tree on the other side and slowly tried to sneak off before she could be noticed._

"_Who's there?"_

_Uzume froze in place, and briefly considered running off before Chiho could speak again. She took half a step forward, and the moment she did, something pulled at her heart as her body started quivering. Startled by the trembling in her legs and feet, the growing warmth in her chest, the quickening of her pulse, Uzume stayed where she was for several moments before turning around and taking what seemed like a thousand steps to the other side of the tree, the wheelchair, and the girl._

"_Sorry if I scared you," Uzume said, tilting her head downward slightly to look at Chiho. The moment they made eye contact, Uzume felt her face flush again, and her trembling threatened to outright override what self control she was using to keep herself from just outright leaving—or doing the opposite and flinging herself onto the girl."You kind of startled me when I saw you under the tree, so I was just going to go..."_

_Chiho shook her head and smiled, causing Uzume's legs to buckle for a moment. The unsteadiness in Uzume's body soon faded when the Sekirei managed to hold eye contact with Chiho for more than two seconds, and realized that the girl's shoulders were drawn inward slightly, and that she was blushing despite the friendly expression on her face. "No, it's all right," Chiho said. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to be out here, let alone in the tree." Her smile widened for a moment, but shrunk not long afterward as she leaned back into her wheelchair, closing her eyes with a small sigh. "It's a nice change of pace from the usual."_

_Uzume blinked. "The usual? What do you mean by that?"_

_Chiho's mouth twitched slightly, and after a moment of silence, she gestured to the hospital with one hand. Uzume followed the movement, and her mouth drew into a tight line when shew she saw the red cross on the side of the towering skyscraper, immediately recognizing what kind of place it was. "Well, this place has been kind of like home to me. I've been here for a few months now." Chiho closed her eyes and coughed slightly into a gloved hand, and after a moment, looked up at Uzume again. Her smile was still there, but was noticeably more fragile than before—strained, even. "Mostly because of that. When it's really bad, I have to stay in bed for a while until it gets back under control."_

_Uzume's chest warmed up again, and she slowly lowered herself to Chiho's level, drawing closer to her. "Are you...lonely a lot? Do you have people come visit you?"_

_Chiho gently shook her head, but Uzume could almost swear that her smile audibly cracked. "My parents passed on a while ago and they were both only children. I had my grandmother, but she died recently, and my symptoms got worse not long after that. But, it's all right. I'm used to it."_

_It was at that moment that Uzume finally saw it in Chiho's dimmed eyes and the way that her smile had become so faint that it was invisible. Pain. Beauty. A solitude deeper than the sky and heavier than the sea._

_Without a moment's pause, Uzume swept in and pressed Chiho's body to her own in a tight hug. Chiho gasped, but didn't move; Uzume, for her part, was too busy inhaling Chiho's scent, feeling her thin, fragile body in her arms, holding back tears."It's not all right," Uzume whispered. "No one should have to be alone. Especially not you." The warmth in her chest was spreading outward now, and she knew for a fact what she was feeling. This was a reaction to an Ashikabi. But that didn't even matter to her. All she knew was that the fragile girl she held in her arms was suffering, and more than anything Uzume wanted to make that suffering stop. "No matter what it takes, I'll make sure you're never alone. From now on...I won't let you be alone."_

_Chiho began to tremble in Uzume's grasp, but remained silent. Instead, she held still and allowed Uzume to keep her close. She could feel Uzume's heartbeat and pulse drumming together, pressing into her body. Another wind blew, but Chiho took no notice of it. Instead, she burrowed deeper into Uzume's grasp, taking a small, gentle breath in through her nose, and with it, the scent of fresh linen from Uzume's clothing._

* * *

_**~Petal 12: A Wagtail on a Flowery Wind~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou**

**2020**

**Saturday, 5:15 PM**

Three days passed without incident for Minato and his Sekirei, as they did for Uzume. While the peace and quiet was good for the former, it was somewhat bad for the latter—Minato could concentrate on studying and training with Akitsu and Musubi, but Uzume had to find at least one of the Sekirei she'd been contracted to terminate. None of them were anywhere to be found over the course of those two days. She didn't particularly want to find them, either, but if she couldn't, or didn't, then her "boss" would probably decide to play coy and start putting pressure on her by threatening Chiho's health once again.

On Saturday afternoon, that changed.

Minato and his Sekirei, at the time, were on their way home from Shinteidai. They had just gotten off the train and gone a few blocks away from the station; the sidewalks were largely empty, as the people that lived in that particular part of town had yet to get off of work. The sun was sinking in the sky, staining the blue with orange and setting the hues of the city to the same color. Musubi and Tsukiumi had each taken one of his arms in theirs, staring at each other with a bright smile and a frown respectively, while Akitsu was walking behind them all, trying to hide her twitching hands by clasping them together behind her back. Minato, for his part, simply let them go on as they were, having no energy to correct them so soon after leaving school.

A sudden thumping caused all four of them to focus their attention on the other side of the street, where a young man wearing an open button-down shirt and jeans was leading a short-haired girl in a long-sleeved blue-blouse and skirt by the hand. Behind the two of them, a female figure covered in the most sparse of white fabric, white opera gloves, white boots, and a veil over her her face gave chase. As the boy and the girl made a sharp left into an alley, the veiled woman followed, lashing her hand out, and a shawl swirled around her arm. With a muttered curse, Minato immediately ran across the street, shifting his breathing to circulate ki, and his Sekirei followed without a moment's hesitation.

Ahead of them all, the young man looked at the rapid dead end approaching him and his friend, and came to a screeching halt, whipping around to face his veiled pursuer. "Damn," he said to himself, turning to his companion at his side. "Kuno, get behind me! And don't move from there until I say so!"

"Y-Yes, Shigi-sama," Kuno replied, quickly moving as he ordered.

The young man groaned, but it was less angry and even had a hint of a chuckle in it, albeit a rueful one. "Damn it, Klutzy, I told you to call me Haruka."

The girl sniffed, her eyes watering slightly. "I'm not klutzy, I'm Kuno."

The veiled woman's jaw clenched as she looked on Kuno and Haruka, and her hand shook as it balled into a fist. However, before she could even strike out with the shawl wrapped around her hand, Minato's raised voice bounced off the alleyway walls. "Hey! You in the white!"

Beneath the veil, Uzume's eyes widened, and she stubbornly kept her eyes forward on Haruka and Kuno, refusing to turn around. _Damn it, Sahashi-chan, why did you have to show up now of all times?_

Minato stood at the mouth of the alleyway, blocking Uzume's only exit on foot. His eyes narrowed on Uzume's back as Tsukiumi called up her water, Musubi took her stance, and Akitsu took a breath, exhaling frosty mist from her mouth. Before anyone could move, though, Minato raised a hand, holding his Sekirei in place. "OK. Let's all stay cool here," he said to them, then took another controlled breath before addressing Uzume, his voice raised slightly. "The way I see it, right now this can go two ways. You get out of here right now and quit chasing those two, or you ignore me and force my hand." He shook his head. "I really don't want to fight. I don't know what those two did to you, but I do know that you have an Ashikabi, too. I don't want you separate you from yours any more than I want you to separate those two. So let's just be cool and let it go. Is that all right?"

Several moments passed without anyone moving. Haruka and Kuno looked between the veiled woman and Minato with nervous anticipation; Musubi trembled in place, Tsukiumi's scowl darkened, and Akitsu's hands slowly began to rise.

Then, the tension was completely broken by the sound of a feminine sigh and a slight burp. Haruka and Kuno both pressed themselves against the wall of the alley as a tall woman in a scandalously short purple dress sauntered forward with a bottle of sake in her hand and a blush staining her cheeks. Her dark hair was gathered together and swept into a high ponytail, held back by a bow-tied purple string. A number of diamond-patterned openings in the dress were spread over her shoulders, chest, and stomach, exposing skin everywhere that they appeared—including some cleavage, part of the underside of her breasts, and her navel.

"Now, now, what's all this fuss about?" she asked, smiling cutely. Despite that, her naturally narrow eyes, framed by her bangs, got even narrower for a moment as she looked over the group. When she saw Minato, her eyes widened, and the hand gripping the bottle nearly dropped it before she regained her composure and grabbed it more securely. "This seems a bit unfair to me, young man, ganging up on one woman with your Sekirei."

"You missed the part where I said I didn't want to fight her," Minato said to the newcomer. "And really, I don't. Hiroto Minaka is a jackass, and advancing his agenda more than I already have will literally make me sick to my stomach." His mind recalled Yomi, and despite his anger at the girl, he knew that what he had allowed Akitsu to do to her had been against the letter and the spirit of what he'd just said. So, too, was winging Sekirei—which was why he was determined to keep his group at the size it was at now, and even more determined to make sure that the only fights he or his Sekirei got into were for self-defense.

For a moment, the woman gave him a piercing look, dropping her smile. However, the longer she looked at him, the more thoughtful and relaxed her expression became, only aided by the clear inebriation on her face. "I see. Quite the strong opinions you have there." She walked forward a bit more, her heels clicking on the pavement. When she got within arm's reach, she reached out with her free hand and cradled Minato's chin, turning his face to multiple angles as she examined him. Were it not for the fact that the woman was so close to Minato, Tsukiumi would have pressed her to the wall with a burst of water big enough to fill a medium-sized bathtub.

Once the woman's inspection was over, she released Minato's face and tapped him on the cheek, smiling once again, while he flushed bright red; her touch had been delicate and teasing, tying his tongue into knots. "You know, under normal circumstances, I would be rather upset that you said such cruel things about the Game Master to my face. But I think I'll let you go today since you were willing to avoid a fight with the young lady over there." She gestured to Uzume with the hand that had the bottle in it, and the veiled Sekirei did her best to still keep her back turned to Minato and the others. "What's your name, handsome?"

"Minato Sahashi," Minato said after a moment. He coughed and cleared his throat, trying to look cool and calm, but failed miserably thanks to the bashful blush staining his cheeks.

The woman took a swig from her sake bottle, then sighed in satisfaction, nodding in Minato's direction. "Minato Sahashi...I'm Kazehana, number 03. Let's meet on a day when the wind is a bit nicer, hmm?"

Tsukiumi's face exploded with red, and her hair was swept upward by the force of the water circling her. Instinctively, Minato and the others moved away from her, while Kazehana simply eyed Tsukiumi with an irritated boredom. "Now see here, you drunken wench! You have no call to be so brazen toward my husband!"

"My husband too," Musubi and Akitsu replied in unison. Tsukiumi simply stared and growled at them for a moment (while Minato blinked once or twice, trying to figure out if he had heard Akitsu correctly just then) before focusing her attentions on Kazehana again. "Minato, step aside. I believe an object lesson is in order for this soused-up fool! Perhaps a dousing in my water will teach her a lesson!"

"If the one in white is getting to leave peacefully, so is Kazehana-san," Minato said, shaking his head and looking away to hide his tomato-colored face. "We talked about this, Tsukiumi-san."

Tsukiumi almost looked like she wanted to argue, but seeing both Musubi and Akitsu relax at the reminder of Minato's current stance on fighting, she gave in and angrily flicked her hand upward, dismissing the water she had called. "Yes, yes, I remember. What foolishness my husband conceives of sometimes..."

Kazehana sighed and walked toward Uzume, though her expression again switched to a smile. "You know, little panty-flasher, a girl with proper breeding wouldn't call that foolishness. I actually find a man with a brain and the judgment to avoid needless fights kind of attractive." Kazehana then flashed a wink at Minato and put a hand on Uzume's shoulder, and he could have sworn that Tsukiumi would literally burst from the inside out with the way she was snarling at Kazehana. "Anyway, I think the time is right for us to leave." She let her empty sake bottle drop from her hand, but rather than shatter on the ground, it was carried down gently by a gust of wind. Pink flower petals began to swirl around them on the new breeze. "Flower Concealment."

The petals grew, enveloping them completely, and when the wind faded, neither Kazehana nor Uzume were standing there anymore. Minato sighed, rubbing his temples with his eyes pressed shut. "That could have been worse. Especially with a single-digit Sekirei running around. Those are the ones that are more dangerous, right?"

"In general, yes, _we_ single digits are," Tsukiumi replied, redirecting some of her pent-up frustration toward Minato. "But just now that number 03 was doing little more than teasing us. It galls me to think that such an irresponsible and slovenly woman is my senior."

Minato managed a dry laugh as he opened his eyes, his growing headache staved off for the moment. "Speak for yourself there, Tsukiumi-san. I'd give my right arm for at least half the other Sekirei in this crazy scheme to be so reasonable." He then turned to Haruka and Kuno, who were still staring incredulously at him and his group. "Hey there. Hope you didn't mind me butting in like that, but you guys looked like you were in a bind."

"...Why did you help us?" Haruka asked, shaking his head as he continued to shield Kuno from Minato. "I don't get it. You just...showed up and talked that veiled Sekirei down, like it didn't even matter to you that we're total strangers." He bit his lip, sparing a brief glance at his Sekirei, before he continued to glare at Minato. "What do you want? Money? Favors?"

Minato sighed. "I meant what I said. You looked like you needed help, so I gave it to you. No strings, attached. Is that so hard to believe?"

Haruka seemed to realize how annoying his stubborn behavior was, and finally relaxed, allowing Kuno to scurry to his side and hold his arm. "Considering the insanity Kuno and I have been through, yes, it is." He looked at Minato once again, then swallowed something in his throat and nodded. "Actually, I have a favor to ask you. You're a strong Ashikabi, right? Do you think you could maybe help me and Kuno out somehow?"

"If you have somewhere where we can sit and talk it out, I don't mind trying," Minato said, smiling. "Lead the way."

Musubi immediately perked up as Kuno examined her, Tsukiumi, and Akitsu with a nervous eye. Eventually, Haruka's Sekirei sniffled and clutched him tighter, her eyes shining with tears. "All of his Sekirei are just too cool...I can't measure up."

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**Saturday, 5:15 PM**

Back at the Izumo Inn, things were quiet, but work was still going on. In her room, Matsu sighed as she dropped one of her dirty dresses into her laundry pile, folded up neatly with some of her undergarments. Since Minato was still out at school and Miya needed the help with chores, Matsu didn't mind taking a break from trying to figure out who exactly the mysterious attacker was. With the last of her laundry put together, she picked it up and passed through the curtain in front of her fake wall. She used her shoulder to push it open, sighing as she came out into the second floor hallway. A set of feet padding up the stairs caused her to stop just before she crossed in front of them, and Homura sauntered out into the hallway, giving Matsu a brief glance and a slight smile. "Been a while, eh, Matsu?"

"Only because you work too much, Homu-tan," Matsu replied. "Anyway, how have you been? You seem well enough, but Matsu knows how good you are at hiding things~ " Her tone rose in its usual light and lilting way, but her eyes were narrowed and sharply examining him.

"Well, actually, I have a little favor to ask," Homura said, ruffling his hair. "My chest has been feeling a bit tight and I've been in some pain recently." His face pulled into a grimace. "I'm...not exactly enthusiastic about what that means."

Matsu sighed and rubbed her temple with one hand. "You shouldn't be. That means your body is still changing." Once more, she looked at him with that uncharacteristic seriousness. "You need to try and find an Ashikabi, Homura. If you keep this up, your body is going to give out on you, or..."

Homura sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "There's a reason I work at a host club, Matsu. Do you think I'm just going there for my own amusement?" He reached up to his shirt pocket as if he were going to grab at a cigarette, but Matsu simply tightened her gaze, and he froze, then lowered his hand with a sigh. "Besides that, it's more important that the few Sekirei that don't have Ashikabi find them. Even if they could lose each other later."

"That means you, too, Homura," Matsu said. "Do you really think you don't deserve an Ashikabi yourself, after all the hard work you put into trying to help other Sekirei find theirs?"

Homura's smile was surprisingly bitter. "That's right, I don't. I'm from fire, Matsu—my kind have been cursed, you know. We weren't meant to be with anyone, only to suffer. So, I'll do what I can to give those other Sekirei that chance. Now, about that medicine..."

Matsu scowled and scratched her head. "Fine, I'll prepare some more of it. But I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. If your body shows any further signs of changing or if your powers start to short-circuit again, you are going to have to put your Sekirei Guardian duties on hold until your body is stabilized. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Homura said. Matsu simply glared at him even harder, and he gulped. "I swear, Matsu, I'll stop if I have to. Seriously. It's a promise."

After a moment, Matsu broke her gaze and headed down the stairs, huffing as she adjusted the weight in her arms. "Come back here after I give these to Miya. I'll give you your starting dosage then. And I promise you right now, if you don't keep your word, I'll make Miya punish you. For real."

Homura just sighed again, and walked off. "I'm not deaf, Matsu." Subtly, he scratched at his chest again, then ran a hand over it. His eyes widened at the feeling of the two small swells that he knew shouldn't have been there, and he moved that hand to his pocket as soon as possible, willfully denying the shaking in his limbs.

"Just a little longer, damn you," he whispered. "Let my body stay as it is just a little bit longer. I don't...I can't do what I have to do if I change. I can't."

* * *

**Shintou Teitou**

**Saturday, 5:20 PM**

While Minato and his Sekirei followed Kuno and Haruka back to their place, Kazehana was leaning against the water tower of the building where she had carried Uzume using her Flower Concealment technique. Uzume's veil was off, exposing her real identity, but she was sitting down with her head hanging low and her back against the wall, beside the door that led downstairs.

"Why did you help me, 03?" Uzume asked. "They weren't going to attack me unless I attacked them first, and there was no way I was planning on that. Not them." Her eyes closed tighter, and she whispered, "Never them...not unless I had absolutely no choice at all."

"Friends of yours, then," Kazehana replied, shifting her weight slightly from one foot to the other. "From Izumo Inn? That could be problematic later, you know. Especially if you decide to disregard Miya's rules."

Uzume gave Kazehana a morose stare from beneath her eyebrows; the shadows half-covering her eyes made her expression that much darker, yet Kazehana's sleepy, drunken expression stayed exactly the same. "I'd never break any of Izumo's rules. If I was even seriously thinking about it, I'd just go back to freezing on the god damn streets first." Uzume pressed her face into her hands, and shook her head. "I just...I don't want to do this. I just want to live in peace and quiet with Chi-chan, without having to worry about any of the shit in this stupid plan!"

There was no hint of a sob in Uzume's voice, only anger, endless anger. Kazehana sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead, but her expression had changed completely from before. The pensive pout on her face was now a frown, pressing her lips from full to flat, while her eyes were narrowed and sharp once more. "I don't particularly care for the Plan myself, but it's the Game Master's will, you know. If you're going to waste your energy on complaining instead of acting, then if you lose your Ashikabi, it's all on you."

After a moment, Uzume pulled her hands down, and stared forward blankly for a few moments before laughing bitterly to herself. "I know. And I can't allow that." Slowly, she stood up, then lashed her gloved hands out and down. In an instant, her shawls wrapped around her forearms, and she turned to face Kazehana with a grim smile. "Number 03, Kazehana. I, number 10 Uzume, challenge you to a battle."

"So you have the nerve to challenge me straightforwardly, but no one else," Kazehana said, standing up as well. She raised a curled hand to her mouth, covering her lips, and her slitted sleeve allowed the purple fabric on her raised arm to expose her entire forearm. A light breeze began to blow again as she looked at Uzume's determined stance, trying to best calculate when Uzume would attack. "Unfortunately, I'm not really up to this right now; my buzz is gone and I am not a very likable Kazehana when my buzz is gone. How about you walk away from me like you did from Minato-chan just now so that you don't get your head handed to you?"

Uzume didn't speak for several moments, and stayed completely still. Then, without a word, she whipped one of her shawls directly at Kazehana's face. The older Sekirei replied by thrusting her raised arm out to one side, and the cloth was repelled by a blast of air. She then brought her hand down, and a storm of pink petals obscured her body, dispersing not long afterward without Kazehana amongst them. Uzume quickly whipped her head and side-ponytail around, trying to find where Kazehana had run off to, but stopped when the sound of high heels touching down on tile greeted her ears from behind, and a pair of slim, strong fingers pressed against the nape of her neck, right on her Sekirei Crest.

"You seem like a very smart girl, Uzume-chan," Kazehana said, her voice feather-light and seemingly unconcerned. "So let me ask you something. Why would you even consider attacking me for more than a split second, knowing that I am a single digit that is _not in the mood for any of this shit?_" In the second half of her sentence, Kazehana's voice had simply fallen a pitch or two lower from its relatively low one, and yet Uzume had never felt such raw terror flowing through her veins before. "Do you want to know what I really don't like about the Sekirei Plan? It teaches you and all the other children to throw away other people's lives to save your own. And sometimes, it's so easy, you forget that you can die as easily as any of the people you kill." Her fingers pressed even harder against Uzume's crest. "If I recite my incantation right now, you'll die. Unless, of course, you want to take up my offer from before and call it even right now."

"...fine," Uzume whispered. She felt the knot of her injured pride rising in her throat, but she ignored it, talking around it as calmly and coolly as she could. "You win, I surrender. I'll leave."

The pressure at the back of her neck eased, and when Kazehana spoke again, her voice was back to its normal pitch, no longer low nor dispassionate. "No," she said with a slight laugh. "_We'll_ leave. It's time for a few drinks. Quite a few drinks. And if we can remember any of this without laughing like a pair of idiots, then we're simply not drunk enough. Sounds good?"

Despite herself, Uzume sighed and smiled weakly, flicking her wrists and hiding her shawls. "Sounds perfect."

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Minato's Old Apartment**

**5:25 PM**

As Minato sat across the table from Haruka and Kuno—the same table he had eaten at with Musubi and Akitsu only weeks before—he couldn't help but feel a weird sense of kinship with the other Ashikabi. They had both failed to get into Shinteidai when they had first come to the city, and spent a long, hard year trying to improve themselves enough to pass the next set of exams. Though ultimately Minato had succeeded and Haruka had not, that didn't change the fact that Ootori's harassment was something both young men had experienced and could commiserate over, nor did it change the fact that Minato could easily imagine himself in Haruka's shoes without too much mental effort on his part.

That sense of kinship was probably why when Haruka had stated that he planned on escaping Shintou Teitou altogether and escaping the Sekirei Plan, Minato had managed to actually keep his expression under control instead of lashing out (like Tsukiumi), blanking out (like Musubi), or just outright staring at Haruka (like Akitsu).

"Escape Shintou Teitou?" Tsukiumi said, sitting at Minato's right side. As it always did when she got upset, her hair seemed to take on a life of its own, flaring up into eight thick, distinct strands, as if it was caught in a breeze. "Escape the Sekirei Plan? Are you mad? You must be mad!" She turned to Minato. "Tell this fool that he has completely lost his mind in every conceivable form!"

"Tsukiumi-san, you're out of line," Minato said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tsukiumi immediately recognized the warning sign in the grimace on his face, and calmed down just enough to let her hair drop, though she still fixed Haruka with a dark glare that was promising nothing pleasant. "I think what she was trying to say, Shigi-san, is that getting out of here is probably not going to work out very well for you. For starters, MBI's security forces have this entire place locked down. And if you did get away, you'd have to literally go off the grid. You can't make phone calls, you'll have no access to any money aside from what you carry with you—and even with all that, I don't doubt that MBI has the resources to track you somehow."

Haruka tugged at the collar of the dark, opened-up button-down shirt he wore over his gray T-shirt, and sighed. "I know that, Sahashi-san. But as you can see, my position isn't the same as yours. I only have one Sekirei and she can't fight. Putting that aside, I don't even want her _to_ fight. She'd only be getting herself hurt, and I don't want to see that happen." He looked tenderly at his Sekirei, then smirked and pulled at her cheek. The girl squealed and began to wriggle around as he pinched and wiggled the skin around for a bit, but soon enough he let her go, shaking his head before turning back to Minato. "So we can't stay here. Somehow, some way, she and I have got to leave."

Minato simply moved his hand from his nose to his hair, massaging his scalp with his fingertips. Right now, as he saw it, what Haruka wanted really didn't matter. Unless the MBI blockade was broken, there was no getting out of the city. And even then, he would have to live on the road and provide for himself and Kuno until the Plan was over, evading MBI the entire way. There was realistically no way in hell a second-year repeater with no experience in living roughly and being completely self-sufficient off the grid was going to manage that.

"You forget another thing," Tsukiumi said, giving a glance to Minato before continuing. "The Disciplinary Squad will surely view any acts of running as an attempt to break the rules. Even if you could find a path to take you from the city, there is no doubt they would fall on you like rain from the heavens and crush you underfoot. Minaka would not be so foolish as to put weaklings on a squad meant to punish rule breakers."

Kuno quivered, her eyes watering, and pressed her hands to the top of her thighs, looking downward, while Haruka stared off to the side. "You don't have to tell me that, lady," he mumbled. "We ran into one of the assholes today. The Blue Sekirei, number 104, Haihane. If we hadn't run away she probably would have cut us to shreds and cooked us for dinner."

Musubi finally snapped out of her trance and gave Minato a puppy-dog pout. "Minato, there has to be a way for you to help them. Didn't you say once that Sekirei shouldn't have to fight if they don't want to?"

"I did say that, and I meant it," Minato replied, opening his eyes and staring up at the ceiling. "But unfortunately I can't think of a way that we could make it work right now. Maybe Matsu-san will be able to help me figure something out, but on my own...I'm smart, but not that smart." To punctuate his point, he shrugged, and let his hands drop onto his lap. Haruka turned to Minato with an angry look on his face, but faltered when he saw how soberly Minato stared back at him. Sighing again, Minato stood up. "Shigi-san, let's exchange phone numbers. I won't make any promises, but after I talk to my sources, I'll let you know, OK?"

Haruka nodded and pulled out his phone. Kuno simply looked at him, then at Minato's Sekirei. Tsukiumi glowered, Musubi smiled, and Akitsu just nodded with a neutral look on her face. The smaller girl fidgeted slightly and looked away, but to her surprise, Musubi got up and came to her side, then crouched down and grasped Kuno's shoulders. "Kuno-san!" Musubi said, softening her smile slightly and furrowing her brow. "If we can find a way to help you, we will. Promise. You don't need to worry."

Kuno blinked again, but this time a small smile cracked her face for the first time since they'd met. "T-Thank you. Really, thank you very much."

Haruka looked up from his phone to see Kuno's comfortable expression, then chuckled to himself and smiled as well as he looked at Minato. "Yeah. Thanks, Sahashi-san. Even if...even if things don't work out, it was good to talk to someone else about all of this craziness. Someone that really understands, anyway."

Minato returned the expression with a nod, but his expression seemed vaguely unsatisfied. His stare pierced through the wall, as if he was trying to see the setting sun sky through it, and not through the window. "Now if everyone else thought like that, maybe...maybe things would be different."

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Outside Izumo Inn**

**5:50 PM**

The walk home to Izumo had been pretty quiet for Minato, Musubi, Tsukiumi, and Akitsu. In their own ways, they were contemplating Haruka's situation, and they had each come to their own individual thoughts about it, but seemed content to keep said thoughts to themselves. Of course, Tsukiumi broke that pattern as they approached the front door, in her usual way—by expressing her opinion directly to Minato and the others. Thankfully, her voice was at conversational volume and her folded arms were somewhat at ease and not particularly tense. "Minato, why did you agree to help him?"

Minato already had the keys to the front door pinched between his pointer finger and thumb, but Tsukiumi's question made him stop and turn to face her. Behind her, Musubi and Akitsu had just passed into the front yard proper and were only a foot or two away from the front gate. "What do you mean, why?" he asked, frowning. "He doesn't want to fight, and thinks this plan is stupid. Didn't seem to be much of a reason for me to disagree."

"Just listen to me for a moment," Tsukiumi snapped, pressing her palms against her biceps. She winced at the acidity of her response and grunted, relaxing her arms again before she stepped forward. "Minato. Do you think it is fair that he and his Sekirei might get a chance to leave behind the Plan, when all of the other Sekirei that are here with their Ashikabi must fight their way through it? Our group is no exception to that rule. So what makes him different? What lets him take the cowardly way out?" Her gaze tightened, and Minato felt a lurch of dread in his stomach. "And even if it does work, how will he survive if MBI hunts him down outside of the city? He is callow, and so is his Sekirei. They could not survive living the lives of fugitives."

"That doesn't change the fact that they don't want to fight, Tsukiumi-san," Minato said, spreading his hands out. His tone was slightly strained again, and everyone that wasn't Tsukiumi could tell that he was trying not to lose his temper. "It's like Musubi said earlier. I don't believe that a Sekirei should fight if they don't want to."

Tsukiumi sighed through her nose and gave Musubi a withering glace. The brown-haired Sekirei was smiling broadly at Minato, pleased that she had been included in the conversation. "Musubi, do you truly believe that?" she asked. "I have seen you spar with Minato. You are forced to hold yourself back because he is not a Sekirei. Do you not wish an opponent of your own caliber to test your strength against? Would you run away too, if you had the option?"

Musubi put a fist to her chin and tilted her head. She started to pace along the pathway to the front door, eventually coming to a stop in front of Minato with her back turned to Tsukiumi. "I'll do whatever I have to if it means that Minato stays safe and sound," she said at last, spinning on her heel to face Tsukiumi with a smaller smile than normal. "I think the one thing more important than fighting other Sekirei is to be with your Ashikabi. Their bond with you is what determines how strong you are when you fight, right? So if you only worry about fighting and don't worry about your Ashikabi, then you'll be getting weaker and weaker when you should be getting stronger. And if you worry a lot about your Ashikabi, then you want to protect them so that they don't get hurt." She pounded the bottom of her fist into her palm, nodding once as her expression tightened into full determination. "So that's why I think it's not important if Shigi-san and Kuno-san don't want to fight. They love each other, and that's enough."

Tsukiumi scowled, and rolled her eyes before looking at Akitsu, who seemed to take a sudden interest in her Chinese slippers. "And what do you think?"

Akitsu looked up when she heard Tsukiumi's question, and after a moment of standing in her perfectly unmoving posture, blinked. "If Minato-sama wants to help them, I will do whatever he asks me to do."

Tsukiumi shook her head, grunting in disgust. "Of course you would say such a thing. Honestly, do you even have a thought concerning yourself anywhere in that head of yours?"

Minato turned his back on them, grabbed the key again, and unlocked the front door. "Please, Tsukiumi-san, don't be difficult. You know that's just the way Akitsu-san is." He opened the door, then stepped inside, slid his feet out of his shoes, and put the well-worn sneakers away on the shelves nearby. "Look, if you really don't want to help us on this," he said, pocketing his keys, "then I'm not going to make you, or anything. With the kind of work we'll have to do, I don't need someone that's not invested in doing everything possible to make it happen."

As Akitsu stepped past her to follow Musubi inside, Tsukiumi kept her eyes trained on her Ashikabi. "Noted." With that, she walked inside, never looking back. Minato simply watched her go, then walked in with his hands in his pockets, making sure to close the door behind him.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**8 PM**

After training with Musubi and Akitsu, a bath, and dinner, Minato went straight to the end of the hallway on the second floor and knocked on Matsu's wall, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and lightly tapping his foot on the wood underfoot. The moment she pushed it open, she looked at him with a light, teasing smile. "Aah, Matsu's Ashikabi-sama came by for a visit. Are you ready to risk life and limb to...experiment, Mina-tan? Ku hu hu."

Minato managed to copy his Sekirei's giddy expression, but it didn't quite reach his eyes the way it should have, and he said, "I'm not quite ready to starve to death yet."

Sensing the tenseness roiling from his body, Matsu sighed, and stepped aside to let him in. Once he passed over the threshold to her room, she pushed the wall shut, then adjusted her glasses and looked directly at him, her eyes sharp and focused. "What do you need, Minato-sama?" she asked.

"This afternoon, while I was coming back from school, I saw a Sekirei in white that wears a veil and uses cloth as a weapon," Minato said, running both hands through his hair as he sighed. "I'm almost positive she's the one behind those attacks you were so worried about—she was chasing down number 95 Kuno, and Kuno's Ashikabi, Haruka Shigi. We stopped her, but number 03 Kazehana took her away from us not long after that. Take a look and see if you can find anyone matching the description, please."

Without a word, Matsu went back to her computer, sat down, and began to type away, running the search. When the results came back, she looked at her small main screen, and her shoulders slumped, making her body appear to nearly collapse in on herself. Minato bent down next to her and looked at the screen, then bit his lip, instinctively pulling back and rubbing his eyes.

Displayed clearly on the screen was a bust shot of Uzume, wearing the clothes that the veiled Sekirei had on that afternoon.

"You have got to be shitting me," Minato said, his croaking voice barely a whisper as he stared at Uzume's empty expression. "Please tell me this is a bad joke."

"Minato-sama," Matsu replied as she slowly turned toward him, "if it was, I'd be laughing right now. As you can see, I'm not." Though her expression remained neutral, her eyes were slightly wider than normal, and Minato could have sworn that he heard gears grinding loudly in her head as she reassessed their situation. "At the very least, we know that Uzume won't dare betray Miya's trust by trying to eliminate a Sekirei that lives here."

"Unless she gets desperate," Minato replied, standing up and starting to pace. His stomach began to twist itself into several tight knots at the simple possibility that Uzume would do something so underhanded if she really wanted to. "And if she hurts any of you girls, I..." He paused, then shook his head, and grunted, grimacing. "Yeah. There's no way I'd be able to forgive her if that happened, but...what do we do about this?" He finally stopped pacing and pressed his face into his hands, shaking his head again. "I don't want to believe that Uzume-san would be so...so deceitful. She said before that she doesn't want to fight..."

Matsu turned away from the computer screen and stood up with a slight grunt, facing Minato with her hands at her sides. Her expression was still tightly controlled, but her brow was knit just enough to indicate that she was doing some hard thinking of her own. "For now? All we can do is sit and wait, Minato-sama. If Uzume isn't willing to break the rules to get at us, then we don't need to break the rules to get at her. When the situation changes, then our tactics will change, too."

After a moment, Minato finally looked at Matsu, but his eyes were empty and haunted, as if he'd been staring at something far away. "Don't tell anyone else," he said to her. "Not a word. We may not know why Uzume-san is doing this, but I refuse to let anyone fight her, unless...unless she goes too far." His lips trembled as he pressed them together, attempting to look stern and authoritative. "Is that clear?"

Matsu simply looked back at him without saying a word. Misunderstanding her silence, Minato spoke again, but his voice cracked partway through as his eyes began to water a little bit. "Matsu-san, answer me. Are you going to do what I've asked you to do?"

"Of course I'm going to, Minato-sama," she said, drawing closer to him. "But I think I need to remind you of one thing." Before he could protest, she grabbed him and squeezed him into a tight hug, pressing her hands into the small of his back. The pressure was soothing for whatever odd reason, and he felt his knotted-up jaw slowly start to relax as Matsu held him.

"Listen to me," she whispered into his chest. "I know you're scared about what Uzume could do to us if she really felt she had to do it. But, Minato-sama, I want you to understand one thing. No matter what happens, we're right here for you, even that grouch Tsukiumi. If you're in trouble, we will help you." She squeezed him tighter. "I know you want to believe in the better part of Uzume, and frankly, I do too. I'm not any happier than you are about this, Minato-sama, so don't try to hide it from me. At least share your sadness with me, if no one else."

Minato didn't move at first, and Matsu was sure that he had completely ignored what she had to say, but eventually she was proven wrong when he wrapped one arm around her waist and put the other on the back of her head, pulling her closer to him. Were it not for the fact that he literally felt stiffer than stone even in her embrace, Matsu would have been greatly satisfied with herself for finally getting some alone time with her Ashikabi.

"Thank you, Matsu-san," he said, his voice firmer but still soft and low in volume; she could only barely hear his timbre vibrate in his chest. "I just...I don't want to hurt anyone, and I don't want to let anyone be hurt. We all suffer enough without going out of our way to hurt each other, you know?"

Matsu nodded, gently sliding her forehead up and down his chest. "I know."

In her mind's eye, she recalled the bleak vision of a rocky field, with huge chunks of earth gouged out of it, strewn with the dead bodies of countless soldiers and the splintered wrecks of tanks and other weapons. From that vantage point in her memory, she could see a single female figure, with long purple hair buffeted on the wind, dressed in clothes that resembled Karasuba's black Disciplinary Squad outfit and wielding a sword so bloodstained that it barely glinted in the harsh sunlight.

"I know very well, Minato-sama."

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**Sunday, 7 AM**

After his heart-to-heart with Matsu, Minato had gone back to his room feeling slightly less despondent but still visibly drained. The week had been long and tiring, and he wanted nothing more than to just sleep in on Sunday morning to spare himself the trouble of waking up early for once.

Unfortunately, his body's natural clock wasn't so easy to convince, and so he found himself staring up at the ceiling of his room at approximately 7 in the morning, with the usual weight from his Sekirei crowding him on all sides. Blearily, he let his eyes wander across the ceiling before pulling his head up to look at himself and see how he would navigate the great Sekirei untangling this morning.

That was when he was greeted by the sight of two new additions to the dog-pile—Uzume and Kazehana had taken Kusano's place, lying directly on his chest with the young Sekirei splayed across their backs. Aside from the fact that their generous bosoms were pressing against his chest, and that their usual hair fixtures weren't in place, causing waves of brown and black to cascade down their respective backs, both Uzume and Kazehana were stark naked, with their clothing piled off in one corner of the room.

Minato quietly put his head back down and stared up at the ceiling for quite some time before he began to pray to every single god he could think of. Most of the prayers were something along the line of "why in hell's name are you doing this to me, you smarmy assholes?"

At her usual place by Minato's side, Akitsu opened her eyes and looked toward Minato with mild concern, then let her eyes trail back to Uzume and Kazehana, whom she had overlooked due to her attention on Minato. In the space of a breath, she was standing up, her nightgown falling to cover her legs as she stared down at her Ashikabi and the Sekirei covering him.

Minato slowly turned his head toward her, doing his level best to look as calm as she did. Or at least as calm as she did, minus her narrowing eyes and twitching eyebrow. "They were here like this already, Akitsu-san, I swear. I had nothing to do with this."

"Tell that to Musubi, too," Akitsu replied, her tone deceptively flat. Minato slowly turned to his other side, and surely enough, Musubi was awake, smiling at him in a way that reminded him way too much of Miya.

"Minato," Musubi asked, "where did Uzume-san and Kazehana-san come from? And why do they smell funny?"

The questions were posed innocently enough, but Minato could sense _something_ bubbling just beneath Musubi's happy exterior. However, unlike Miya, Musubi's expression wasn't masking just anger, but something worse, something that Minato never would have guessed Musubi could feel—_jealousy_.

Though he wasn't aware of what exactly Musubi was feeling, Minato could guess well enough. He took in a breath through his nose to calm himself so that he could explain properly, and subsequently gagged on the scent of strong sake coming from Uzume and Kazehana. The movement of his chest and the sound from his throat caused both of them to blink blearily and come out of their stupor. However, the moment Uzume realized where she was and what she was doing, she all but jumped off of Minato, accidentally rolling over onto Tsukiumi and causing a still-sleeping Kusano to tumble gently off of Uzume's back and onto the ground. Immediately, she regretted the action, clutching her head and moaning, while Kazehana simply looked around blearily, then focused her gaze directly on Minato, who had closed his eyes the moment he realized he was going to get an eyeful of Uzume that he didn't want.

"Jesus, how much did I drink last night?" Uzume muttered to herself, her face flushed. "Why'd I let that idiot talk me into that..." In a slightly louder voice, she said, "Sorry, Sahashi-chan. Went on a bender last night...I got some kind of bad news and needed to cut loose a little bit."

"You smell like you downed every bottle in the damn bar," Minato replied, trying to keep his tone relatively light so that he wouldn't start freaking out loudly enough to wake up Tsukiumi, Kusano or Matsu (the fact that Uzume's little rolling stunt hadn't woken any of them up yet was a miracle that Minato didn't feel like questioning). "The both of you do, in fact. Also, why are you _both_ naked in _my_ room?"

Uzume immediately flushed and went over to where her clothes were mixed with Kazehana's, pulling her bra and panties on before slipping her legs into her pants and yanking her shirt over her head. "Sahashi-chan, we were hammered and it was late at night. And it just so happens that both Kaze-nee and I sleep in the nude."

Uzume's nickname for Kazehana was so strange-sounding at first that Minato reflexively asked "Kaze-who?" before realizing who she was talking about.

Then, he felt something warm brush against his face, and he opened his eyes to see Kazehana staring at him intently, with the same sharp focus that she had examined him with once before and a hand on her face. At length, she pulled her hand back, then reached out and stroked his cheek again. "You look exactly like him. I was suspicious before, but now I'm positive..."

Minato blinked. "Exactly like who?"

Kazehana simply smiled, and her hand lowered from his cheek to his chin, cupping it and tilting it up slightly before she let go of his chin and brought her hand down to his chest. "...it's a long story," she said, giving her best flirty smile. "All you need to know is that it's a good thing that you look like him."

"And all _I_ need to know," Miya's voice said suddenly from Minato's doorway, "is that you are a naked unmarried woman in a young man's room. A room that is _in my inn. _And in my inn, _lewd acts are forbidden._"

Kazehana froze where she was and looked up at Miya with a guilty grin on her face. The landlady smiled and spun her ladle between her fingers rapidly, then crossed the room in a single step to beat Kazehana mercilessly with it. The noise caused Matsu and Tsukiumi to jerk awake as they too were caught in the crossfire, and Minato moaned pitifully as the weight of the three Sekirei on his body kept him from getting out of the way of a few ill-placed hits.

Through it all, Kusano slept with a dreamy smile on her face, mumbling, "Min-nii-chan~"

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Apologies for the tardiness. You see, I got lost on the road of life..._

_The climax continues to approach. I'm nervous yet excited at the same time, and a little sad, too. This story is way shorter than most of what I've done and I feel bad that there will still be some threads to the events beyond that won't get followed up on unless I can get a sequel out.  
_

_Then again, it gives you all something to look forward to for a future project. When I think of it that way, it's less painful.  
_

_Review Response:  
_

_voidblade6: Minaka is kind of becoming more complicated the further I go. The final intent is to kind of round him out a bit, sort of make him slightly more comprehensible. You are also correct about Tsukiumi's dialogue, to a certain extent; in Japanese it's not only more formal, but also more old-fashioned, closer to old literature if I'm not mistaken. The English dub is all right, but I just didn't want to butcher the Old English tongue that way. :V  
_

_emeraldfireblade: Thank you and thank you. Regarding Yukari, it's like I said in those chapter notes; with Masaru around, her attitude is slightly less terrible. At worst, she's really cocky and a bit of a tease, but nowhere near as bratty as she is normally.  
_

_The next chapter will be up in two weeks, as usual. See you guys then._

_~ZS_


	13. The Preparation to Migrate

_**Shintou Teitou, Teitou Tower**_

_**2020**_

_**Tuesday**_

_Kazehana had gone over the scenario she was facing a million times in her head. She knew that there were so many possibilities in terms of how this meeting could have gone, but what was happening now was pretty much the worst one._

_In front of her, Hiroto Minaka sat at his large mahogany desk, looking her squarely in the eyes with his hands folded over each other and placed under his chin. Soft sunlight streamed in from the skylight above his head and the window to his left, illuminating his crop of whitish-silver hair. His expression was not his normal manic grin nor the arctic expression he saved for his more vindictive or angry moments. Instead, his expression was a small, almost apologetic smile, and though his eyes crinkled with what looked like amusement, Kazehana knew from years of dealing with him that he was being serious._

_He was silent now, but just a moment before, he had spoken the words that she had never wanted to hear—"I'm flattered, but sorry."_

_After a moment, she finally managed to find her voice again, though her voice was cracking despite her best effort. "Why?"_

"_Kazehana. Never think for a moment that I don't appreciate the sacrifices you have made for the sake of MBI." His hands shifted further forward as he lifted his head; still clasped together, they hovered in front of his mouth. "However, it wouldn't be appropriate for you and I to enter a relationship as Sekirei and Ashikabi. And even if it was, I am simply not interested in you in that manner. So, I will say it again. I'm flattered, but sorry."_

_Kazehana stared at him for a few moments, then slowly shook her head, her expression souring into a bitter frown. "...it's because of her, isn't it? That damned woman..."_

"_Once upon a time, yes," Minaka said, shrugging. "Right now? Not really. We've long since had our falling out." The expression on his face became more thoughtful, and Kazehana realized dimly that the ever-manic president was expressing something close to visible sadness for the first time she could think of. "It was pleasant while it lasted, but I think we both knew it was going to fail. At least, I hope Takami knew it was going to fail."_

_Kazehana smacked her hands on the desk and leaned in closer to him, her eyes shining with wetness. Her chest heaved as she tried to take a calming breath; right now, the tightness of her Disciplinary Squad uniform felt so restricting that she was tempted to rip it off. "Then why not try again with someone else? Someone who can actually love you and not treat you like that woman does?"_

_Minaka's response was calm and measured, but its absolute certainty made it feel like a shout in Kazehana's ears. "Because no matter who it is, they're not her, and could never be her. Not even you, Kazehana."_

_After a few tense moments of silence, Kazehana straightened up, and finally felt something within her give. Warm tracks of tears slid down her face while an icy chill gripped her stomach and heart. Without another word, she walked straight out of his office, never once turning back. _

_The Sekirei Plan didn't matter anymore._

_What good would it be to seek a prize with some other person, some inferior Ashikabi? Minaka was the only one that she wanted, more than life itself. If she couldn't have him, then she would have no one. She was strong enough to do as she pleased without him. She didn't need to have anyone to feel fulfilled._

_And yet her heart kept screaming bloody murder at her, telling her that she was lying to herself ten million times over._

* * *

_**~Petal 13: The Preparation to Migrate~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Sunday, 9 AM**

Two hours after Minato's surprise visit from Kazehana and Uzume, Minato was out in the backyard with Akitsu and Musubi, sporting a few bumps and bruises from Miya's ladle assault on his undefended body. Homura had wandered out onto the porch sometime afterward with reheated breakfast in hand, while Kazehana, Matsu, and a glowering Tsukiumi watched the girls practice with Minato. Miya was inside attending to chores, most likely as a cover for her irritation with Kazehana's careless appearance earlier.

The morning was temperate overall, with hardly a cloud in the sky and a decent breeze blowing, and Kazehana in particular was regarding Minato with a focus that was utterly at odds with her small, amused smile.

"Ku hu. You like what you see, eh, Hana-tan?" Matsu said, looking up from her tablet to wink at Kazehana. "Trust me, those muscles aren't for show."

"With the way he moves, I would hope not," Kazehana said. She idly played with the sake bottle in her right hand, rolling the neck back and forth between her thumb, pointer, and middle fingers. "He's a bit shy for my tastes, though. Can you believe he was actually trying to avoid sneaking a peek at me this morning? Most healthy young men would kill for a look at this body."

Matsu clucked her tongue and shook her head. "I find that part of his personality really attractive. It means that I can't get him to even try and make a move, but I'm sure he'll be pretty much floored when he gets the full package later."

That line caused them both to laugh, though it soon became a bout of perverted giggling. In front of them, Homura and Tsukiumi both grunted in annoyance, though since Homura was eating, it was Tsukiumi that said, more to herself than anyone else, "Were those two like this whilst that debauched drunkard was actually living here? I shudder to think of that combination."

Homura swallowed the piece of fish in his mouth and sighed, adjusting his position. As he did so, the entire porch shook slightly as Musubi executed a perfect Oroshi, much to Minato's vocal delight. "Basically, yes," Homura replied. "Kazehana even came by my host club once or twice to hire me for a night. That was...awkward, to say the least."

After a few more moments of silence between them, Tsukiumi blinked and looked down at Homura with a confused frown. "I have not heard of a 'host club' before. What manner of place is it?"

Moments later, as Minato tried to get an excited Musubi to calm down so that he could show her "something special", the sound of Tsukiumi stomping off in a huff drew his attention to the porch. Homura's eyebrow was raised as he looked at where Tsukiumi had gone off to, Matsu looked mildly amused, and Kazehana was simply smiling to herself. "Do I even want to know what that was about?" he asked, repressing a sigh.

"Innocent little Tsukki-tan didn't know what a host club was," Matsu said, smirking. "When Kaga-tan told her, she seemed to get offended for some reason or another."

Minato sighed and shook his head, then briefly looked at Homura to see his reaction to the events; the incognito Sekirei Guardian simply shrugged and ate another piece of fish, as cool as he always was. Minato then turned back to Akitsu and Musubi, but he could have sworn that from the corner of his eye, he saw Kazehana wink at him and wiggle her fingers playfully in his direction. He was grateful that he managed to avoid blushing, but just seeing her reminded him that he had completely forgotten to tell Matsu the rest of the story about Haruka and Kuno.

_After training, _he thought to himself, taking a breath to spike his ki and clear his thoughts. _Before I go to study. Right now, I need to focus. I'm cheating a little bit by doing this now, but I think Musubi could use the motivation. _Aloud, he said, "Musubi. I want to show you something that I think you'll find really cool. Think of it as a reward for how hard you've been training up until now. But before I show you this, I need both you and Akitsu-san to promise that you won't try to do it until I actually teach you how. It's very dangerous for you to use this move as you are right now."

Musubi's eyes brightened so much that she could have used them as flashlights. Her hands clenched into fists and she began to tremble, before nodding several times. "I promise, Minato-shishou!"

Akitsu's nod was, as expected, far more sedate. "I as well, Minato-shishou."

Satisfied with their responses, Minato took another set of breaths, getting his ki to start cycling properly. Once he felt the flow going, he took his Rindoukan stance, turning toward the porch while doing his best to avoid looking Kazehana in the eye. "This is one of Rindoukan's three strongest techniques. You don't have to normally take as many breaths as I did to start it off, but the better your blood is flowing, the easier it is to do properly."

With one final breath to steady his nerves, Minato stiffened for a moment, then slid his rear foot forward to shift into a horse stance, clenching both hands into fists and pulling them in to the side of his body. When next he spoke, his voice was raised to a loud, powerful shout.

"Hissatsu!"

In a single smooth motion, he punched downward with his left fist, striking an imaginary enemy right in the groin. From there, he threw three more thrusting punches, striking the jaw, solar plexus, and groin again with alternating hands, then delivered a final blow to the underside of the chin. After holding his extended left fist up for a while, he lowered it and released the breath he'd taken.

As expected, Musubi had him in a death hug not long afterward.

"Minato-shishou, that was so cool!" If her eyes were opened any wider, Minato thought, they would fall out of their sockets. "That move looks super strong, are you sure you can't teach it to me yet? It's really simple looking. It can't be that hard!"

Though Minato managed to keep a smile on his face, his tone was still stern enough to make the excited girl stop and pay attention to what he was saying. "Musubi, if you were to just use that move blindly...well, let's say that someone of my strength has been able to break bones with it. Break them very badly, at that." Musubi gasped, and the excitement on her face instantly gave way to fear. Minato winced, partially because she gripped him a little harder and partially because he could guess what she was imagining right now. "Anyway, that's why...it's important that you wait until you've been properly taught. Otherwise, you could very well kill someone."

The pressure on his ribs eased up as Musubi stopped clutching him so tightly, and she bowed her head, then pulled away from him."Yes, Minato-shishou," she whispered. "I understand."

Minato sighed, and rubbed the nape of his neck. "I didn't mean to scare you. It was just a warning. I promise you, when you're ready for the Seichuusen Godanzuki, I'll teach it to you. Just...be patient, for now. OK?"

Musubi nodded, still looking terribly subdued. "OK."

Grimacing, Minato decided to try and sidetrack Musubi so that she would get her mind off of that particularly depressing image. "That last Oroshi of yours was pretty close, Musubi," he said, smiling down at her. "Why don't you try that a few more times? Then let me see your Fukiage."

As expected, Musubi's attitude shifted instantly, and she stepped away from him, creating the space she needed to practice safely."Yes, Minato-shishou!" Immediately, she shifted into her stance and started a slow, exaggerated chop, and Akitsu sat down and went into her breathing exercises. Satisfied by their prompt response, Minato sat back and let them work, correcting them only rarely.

From the porch, Kazehana kept watching him, still smiling in amusement. Matsu occasionally looked up at her, then back to Minato, wondering silently if perhaps Minato had managed to open up Kazehana's eyes to the possibilities...

* * *

**Izumo Inn: Matsu's Room**

**Sunday, 4 PM**

Some time later, Matsu was busy entering some data into her private database, while keeping an eye out for any more strange activity that she could link to Uzume. The number 10 Sekirei hadn't shown up to breakfast, but Matsu's cameras hadn't caught any footage of Uzume leaving Izumo Inn, either; the live feeds showed Uzume moping around in her room, and none of the proximity alerts around Izumo Inn had been tripped. With a sigh, Matsu then pulled up the results from testing the strip of cloth she'd torn out of Uzume's pants. She'd gotten the results back this morning; the matching hadn't taken very long, particularly since she only had to test against a relatively small selection of Sekirei, and was using MBI's superior analytical technology in order to do it.

Sure enough, though, the results had matched one of the suspiciously terminated Sekirei.

_Now the question is "why is she targeting these people"? _Matsu asked herself, closing the file. She squeezed the bridge of her nose and sighed, getting up to start pacing around the room. _I can look up the Ashikabis' histories, but trying to identify a single common point between them is going to be difficult enough as it is..._

While she was thinking over that plan, a gentle knocking sounded at her "door". Absently, she said, "Come in," and since she wasn't paying attention to who was coming inside, she was mildly surprised when she turned and saw Minato standing in her doorway with Kazehana draped around his neck like a scarf. "Mina-tan? What's going on?"

"There's something else I need to talk to you about," Minato said, scratching his head. "And Kazehana-san...well, she's sort of just been hanging around." The undertone of _she won't go away and can't take a hint either_ was clear in his voice. "It's nothing too bad, if you're worried about her being here."

Matsu simply looked at Kazehana, who returned the look with her usual coy smile. At length, Matsu shrugged, and folded her arms. "Then, go ahead."

Without mentioning Uzume, or Kazehana's involvement, Minato explained the situation regarding Haruka and Kuno, as well as their desire to escape Shintou Teitou before things got worse for them. As he did, Matsu listened carefully, only sparing an occasional glance to Kazehana, whose face got rosier and rosier as Minato kept talking. Matsu couldn't smell any sake in the air, but she wouldn't have been surprised if Kazehana was swooning because of the story Minato was telling. The only thing Kazehana liked more than a bottle of sake was a good romantic moment, and either of them in high enough quantity would be enough to make Kazehana giddy.

When he finished, Matsu sighed, taking off her glasses to rub a hand over her eyes. Then, she put them back on and looked directly at Minato. "You've got a bad habit of getting yourself into really interesting situations, Minato-sama. You realize that you basically promised to try and break someone out of a city that's currently doubling as the world's biggest prison, right?"

Minato folded his arms, but his stern moment was completely ruined by his Kazehana neckerchief. "I said I would _try_ to help him, Matsu-san. I know our limits. If it turns out that it's basically impossible, then Shigi-san and Kuno-san are going to have to figure out something else. That said, what do you think we can do?"

Matsu turned away from him and began to pace back and forth, then sat down at her keyboard. She began to rapidly pull up information from both satellite feeds and her inroads to MBI's private servers. Despite the sheer insanity of Minato's request, she had to at least try to come up with some ideas. _Maybe if I can analyze some of the blockade patterns and schedules, I might be able to see what gaps we could exploit. _ She took a moment to pull up information on Kuno and Haruka, scanning it briefly to see if they were in a situation quite as tight as Minato had described. The reports on Kuno's power levels made her grimace; apparently, the only combat skill Kuno had would tax her body severely, enough to make her cough up blood. With a handicap like that, there was no way Haruka and Kuno would last through the entire plan—Kuno would either be terminated, or terminate herself by over-exertion.

Matsu's cursory examinations of MBI's databases weren't helping, either. She could spot no discernible gaps in their guard rotations or schedules, save for the fact that the northern part of the city was under far less direct watch than the south, west, or east. She could probably thank Miya for that, considering that the inn was in the northern part of the city and that Minaka was intent on keeping Miya out of the plan, but MBI forces were still in the area, and even the troops' reduced numbers would easily overwhelm Minato's group of Sekirei if they had reason to mobilize

As she pored over the exact troop deployments, though, Matsu realized that they were spread much more thinly than she'd initially thought. In fact, they were spread so thinly that with a few more Sekirei on their side, it might not be as impossible as she thought it was to break through somehow.

Matsu stopped typing and stared off into the distance for a moment. Her shoulders squared off as a vague idea struck her. Behind her, Minato shifted from foot to foot, trying to slightly wiggle out of Kazehana's grasp. Kazehana was watching Matsu's back with her normal sleepy smile, but knew that Matsu had a plan in mind. The only question was what exactly she'd thought of (or just how close the plan would bring them to dying, knowing Matsu's penchant for planning).

"Mina-tan," Matsu said. "Could you call Seo-tan, please?"

Minato blinked, but fumbled for his phone even though Kazehana was still holding on to him just enough to hinder his movements. "Seo-san? Um, sure." After a few tries, he got it out, dialed Seo's number, and put the phone to his ear, waiting.

Eventually, the other line clicked to life, and Seo's voice came across, a low, tired mumble. _"Y'ello...Seo's Freelance Service, Seo Kaoru speakin'. How can I help ya?"_

"Seo-san, it's Minato Sahashi," Minato said. Kazehana shifted her grip, pressing her chest into the small of his back, and he flinched involuntarily. "Um, I have a job for you."

Instantly, the sleepiness in Seo's voice fell away. _"What kind of job exactly?"_

"Erm, Matsu-san can explain better than I can right now. Give me a second to give her the phone." He shot Kazehana a meaningful look (as best he could with her clinging to his back, anyway), and she sighed louder than she needed to before letting him go.

With his arms free, Minato bent down and gave Matsu his phone; she took it without even looking at it, keeping her eyes on the screen in front of her. "Seo-tan," she said, her smile tight and tired. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"_That's an understatement. What's your Ashikabi up to that he'd call me up and say he's got a job for me?"_

Matsu sighed, and cradled the phone between her head and her shoulder so that she could go back to typing. "He wants to get a Sekirei and an Ashikabi out of the city before they get seriously hurt. The only feasible route is through the north. Patrols are just light enough that we might be able to do it with extra support. Would you be willing to help?"

The line went quiet for a few moments before Seo replied. _"He'd better be paying me a hell of a lot for a risk like that."_

"He's a college student," Matsu said, narrowing her eyes, "and you don't accept MBI cards for payment—or at least I hope you don't. There's pretty much no way he'd be able to pay whatever you're asking unless it's cheap."

"_You're askin' me to do something that'll put a big fat target on my back for the Disciplinary Squad to come and cut my guts out," _Seo replied, his easy-going tone slightly less so._"Not that I don't like the kid or his ideals, but you don't ask a guy to do something that dangerous without bringing an incentive to the table."_

Matsu would have nodded her understanding if she could have, but between the phone crooked into her neck and impatience rising in her throat, she was in a position to do quite the opposite. "Incentive, huh? How about this. You help us, I won't go tell Miya-tan that you're being difficult. And you know what'll happen to your food supply if I have to tell her that, don't you?"

Seo's voice shifted from serious to whining in the space of a heartbeat. _"Oh, that's just dirty. You're seriously going to resort to starving me just to make me help you? God, Matsu."_

"My Ashikabi wants to do this, so no matter what I have to do to help him do it, I'll do it." _That, and I'm grateful that he's asking me for help, _she thought to herself. _He's taking initiative and including me on it, instead of pretending everything is just fine without his intervention. _ "Blackmail isn't the worst thing I could do to get him that help."

After several muttered curses under his breath, Seo finally responded to Matsu's threat. _"Fine. I'll do it. I've got my own maps and schedules and crap here, so don't worry about sending me any. I'll contact you when I'm ready."_

Matsu stopped typing and grabbed the phone. "Thank you, Seo-tan~" She handed it back to Minato with a wink and a broad smile.

"Seo-san, I'm sorry about Matsu-san," Minato said. Even though he knew only half of the conversation, what he'd heard was enough to make the apology feel warranted. Seo's complete inability to cook for himself had meant that he had become a semi-regular staple at Izumo Inn every couple of days. "If you really want payment them I'm sure we can—"

"_Kid, don't worry about it." _Seo's sigh only reinforced the thought that Minato should in fact worry about it, but before he could say so, Seo kept talking. _"Frankly, the moment you said she wanted to talk __to me, I should have just said hell no, but a job is a job. That, and I was hoping that she'd see things my way if I explained my logic."_ He paused, then sighed again. _"You realize, though, that doing this means that you're basically spitting in Minaka's face, right? He ain't going to ignore you after this."_

Minato nodded. "I know. But Kuno-san and Shigi-san really and truly don't want to fight. If it wasn't for that, I never would have considered trying to get them out of here. If I can help at least them..."

Though Minato didn't notice it, Kazehana's face flickered from its soft smile, but only momentarily, as he said that.

"_You're one of a kind, kid,"_ Seo said, letting Minato's voice and thought trail away without interrupting him. _"Don't you worry. I'll help you out. Promise." _

The conviction in Seo's voice was all Minato needed to hear. "Thank you, Seo-san."

Seo chuckled dryly. _"We'll talk when it's time. Till then, keep your head down. Later."_

Minato hung up the phone as soon as Seo did, and put it in his pocket, then looked to Matsu with a thankful, relieved smile. "Matsu-san. You really came through. Thank you."

Matsu's smile expanded into a cheeky grin. "Just depend on me more often, Mina-tan." She got up and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek, then sauntered toward the wall-door, pushing it ajar slightly. "Now, are you going to train Musubi-tan and Aki-tan today? I'd like to get some more data today. Your Rindoukan is really interesting to try and...decode, I guess would be the word."

Minato smiled and nodded. "I'll be down in a minute."

Matsu winked at him and left, but as Minato made to follow her, Kazehana draped around his neck again, sighing gustily. "Minato-kun, you are quite the dashing young fellow, you know," she said, nuzzling her cheek into his neck. "Stopping that veiled Sekirei, trying to help out that other Ashikabi and his Sekirei... I think if every Ashikabi was like you, a few of those little birds out there would be much happier than they are now."

The mention of Uzume's secret identity made Minato stiffen momentarily. Eventually, he sighed; he knew there was no point in trying to pretend that he didn't know the truth. "If that included Uzume-san, too, then I'd be happy myself." Kazehana stayed nestled into the crook of his neck, no longer moving around. "I don't know why she was chasing Kuno-san and Shigi-san, but I couldn't let her hurt them. It wouldn't have been right."

Kazehana sighed and released him again, then walked in front of him, folding her arms beneath her bust and regarding him with that oddly keen glance. "So, you knew it was her."

"Not until I asked Matsu-san to find out who the 'veiled Sekirei' was," Minato said. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and muttered something under his breath. "The fact of the matter is that even though I don't know Uzume-san that well, she's still a resident of Izumo Inn and our friend. I don't want to fight her. Not unless...not unless she really forces my hand."

Kazehana's tone of voice didn't lighten in the slightest as she kept talking. "And what would it take for that to happen?"

"If she hurts any of my Sekirei...then that's pretty much over the line as far as I'm concerned. If I can stop her from hurting any other Sekirei without a good reason, I will, but I won't fight her if I can help it." Minato grimaced at the callousness of his statement. "It's selfish of me, but I..."

"It's human," Kazehana said. She was speaking softly now, and her expression was far less severe than before. Though she wasn't blushing, a different kind of heat was rising in her, now, spreading from her back and her chest, out to her fingers and toes. It was part of why she'd been clinging to Minato so much; she had been doing her best to keep him off balance so that he wouldn't notice that she was reacting to him. Touching him made the reaction ever stronger, but she could satisfy herself when she breathed in his scent, held on to him. "You care about other people, but you care about your Sekirei most of all. No one would ask you to care about every single Sekirei the way you would your own. I don't think anyone could ever dream of doing that."

A slight smile returned to Kazehana's face as she studied the blush that gradually overcame Minato. The warmth that she'd wanted Minaka to give her for so long was coming from the last place she'd expected it to, and the feeling was only growing stronger.

"But if anyone _could_ dream of it, it would be someone like you," she said. She studied him for a moment longer, then tapped his cheek, trailing her fingers down to his lips for a moment; as expected, he flinched, staying off balance. "Tell you what, Minato-kun. Since you've impressed me, I'd be happy to help you with those two that want to leave. And maybe sometime before then, I might give you a little present. Just to thank you for working so hard."

"Thank you, Kazehana-san," Minato said, clearing his throat slightly. A small blush colored his cheeks, since he had a feeling that Kazehana's present was going to be...something memorable. "You won't tell Uzume-san anything about what I know, right? It could make things complicated later, but I don't know how to tell her. If I said anything about it to Uzume-san, I might be breaking Asama-san's rules, so..."

Kazehana nodded. "I understand what you mean. My lips are sealed." Her smile faded, and Minato wished briefly that it hadn't; Kazehana's smiles were oddly captivating when they lacked their usual sultry taste. "Someday, though...you should let her know. She may not react the way you think she might. If anything, it might make it easier on her, knowing that there's someone else she doesn't have to keep secrets from."

Minato could tell Kazehana was speaking honestly, but he still hesitated. To tell Uzume that he knew what she had almost done would change things between them. And it would not necessarily be a good change, either. If they became enemies...then it would only make it harder to face each other.

"I'll consider it," he said, letting out a soft breath through his mouth. "But right now, I need to go and train with Musubi and Akitsu-san. Will you come and watch?"

Kazehana's smile kept her slight disappointment in him internalized. "Of course. I'm not quite in the mood to get drunk right now and lazing around Izumo will only make Miya more upset. She probably won't care if I watch you work those fabulous muscles of yours with your cute little girls, though." She winked at him, and the blush came back to his face in full force. "So, shall we go?"

Minato barely had the presence of mind to clear his throat and shake the stars out of his eyes. "U-um, sure."

Kazehana laughed, and followed him out of the room, draping her body across his back once again.

_I guess this is what it's like to have a second love, _she thought. _I would have never imagined liking Minato-kun more than his father, but at this rate, I think it might be better this way._

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**Sunday, 6 PM**

The rest of Saturday passed quietly enough, and it was not until the next evening that Minato heard back from Seo. At the time, he had taken a rare break from supervising Musubi and Akitsu, and was sitting upstairs in his room doing homework. Kusano was resting on his lap, while Kazehana was leaning on the back of his chair; Miya had been less than happy about how often Kazehana hung around him, particularly considering how Kazehana had returned to the inn in the first place, but Kazehana had been careful to keep things G-rated around both Miya and Kusano.

As Minato finished a particularly tough problem, his phone buzzed on the desk. He put down his pen and picked up the phone, leaning back slightly as Kusano wiggled in his lap. "Hello?"

"_Go time, kid," _Seo said. _"How quick can you get here?"_

Minato bit back a swear, and did his best to keep his tone even when he replied. "I could tell you, Seo-san, if I knew where exactly 'here' is supposed to be."

"_It's on the card. Hurry up and get yer skinny butt over here with that runaway of yours, ASAP. We gotta do this tomorrow or MBI's gonna bust our asses wide open."_

It was at that point that Minato noticed that Seo's speech was terser than usual. Though it was unusual for the "scruffy" Ashikabi, Minato took it as a sign that he was being serious. "I'll call Shigi-san right now, Seo-san. We'll get there as soon as we can."

"_Then I'll see you later. Make it quick, kid."_

Seo hung up immediately after that, and Minato dialed Haruka's number, his expression growing somber. Kusano looked up at him with a worried frown on her round face.

The line clicked on after only a few seconds. _"Hello, Shigi speaking."_

"Shigi-san, it's Minato. We can get you out."

Instantly, Haruka's voice got serious._"Then what's the plan?"_

Minato gently patted Kusano on the head and made a shooing motion with one hand. She got down from his lap with a grunt, but when he mouthed _"you can get back on later"_, her frown vanished. He then pulled open the desk drawer in front of him and grabbed Seo's card. The chair creaked slightly as both he and Kazehana shifted on it. "I'm going to give you an address. Meet us there today as soon as you can. When you get back home, start packing whatever you're going to take with you. We're breaking you out tomorrow."

"_Kuno and I will be there," _Haruka said, and his voice made it clear that was a promise._"I've got pencil and paper ready." _

Minato read the address to him, and the phone was filled with the quiet sounds of Haruka's pen moving across the paper. Once he finished writing, Haruka let off a quiet sigh._"Sahashi-san, you're a lifesaver, honest to God. Kuno...she's been doing her best to hide it from me, but she's scared out of her mind."_

Minato shook his head. "You can thank me when you're out of Shintou Teitou in one piece. Now, get Kuno-san and get going. We'll meet up there."

"_Watch your back out there,"_ Haruka said.

The line clicked into silence, and Minato stood up; Kazehana pulled the chair back for him once he was standing. Before he could leave, though, Kusano pulled on his pant leg, drawing his eyes down to her.

"Onii-chan, are you going to be OK?" she asked.

Minato grinned and ruffled her hair, grinning in a carefree way that didn't reach his eyes. "I just have to take care of an errand, Kuu-chan. I'll be right back. OK?"

Kusano wormed her way out from under his hand and pouted at him, but the concern was clear on her face. "I know you'll be right back, onii-chan. I'm not worried about that. You look really sad. Why are you sad?"

If Minato was a different man, he would have found some way to downplay his worries again. But he couldn't bring himself to lie to her face, and he knew that Kusano was too sharp to fool. "It's a long story, and it's mostly boring adult stuff that's bringing me down. I'll be OK, eventually. I'll just have to work really hard."

Kusano didn't seem to buy it, but if she wanted to argue it, she didn't bother. "OK, onii-chan. But you'd better come back happy when you're done with all that adult stuff! You got it?"

For a few moments, Minato couldn't do much else aside from smile as he felt a sudden warmth in his stomach. It most certainly felt good, but he hadn't the slightest clue where it was coming from. It felt...right, somehow, so he didn't question it. "Yeah, I got it."

Satisfied, Kusano let his pants go, and he left the room with quick, determined steps, Kazehana following behind him like a second shadow.

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Seo's Apartment**

**Sunday, 7 PM**

Seo's apartment had only been about a half-hour's distance from Izumo Inn, so Minato anticipated that Haruka and Kuno would take about an hour at a decent pace to make it. When he came to Seo's door with Musubi, Akitsu, Tsukiumi, and Kazehana in tow, they were greeted by Hikari and Hibiki, dressed in matching spaghetti tops with their Sekirei numbers written on them in block letters. Hibiki just gave them a nod, but Hikari looked skeptically at them, particularly at Kazehana (who returned her stony glance with a cheerful wave and a smile).

"Come on in," Hikari said, stepping to the side as she pulled the door open. "Pardon the mess."

Minato, his Sekirei, and Kazehana stepped inside, and realized just how understated Hikari's statement had been. Though Seo's apartment was fairly large for the place where it was, it felt cramped. Cans of Yebisu littered almost every inch of the tiled floor, the wooden counter tops of the breakfast nook, and the kitchen, spilling over into the sink. Thin, nearly transparent cobwebs filled the darkest or most out-of-the-way corners of the ceiling, and Minato could have sworn that the black stain next to the garbage bin was actually wriggling around.

"You made it, kid," Seo's voice said, and Minato started, looking to the couch where Seo's voice had come from. The front of the couch was turned away from him, but Seo was leaning on it, looking in Minato's direction with a tired smile. "Where's my client?"

"He lives at my old place, which is already half an hour from Izumo Inn on foot," Minato said. "He left at the same time we did, so he'll probably be another thirty minutes or so."

Seo sighed, then spread his arms out, indicating a few chairs around the apartment. "Well, I don't feel like explaining the plan twice, so make yourself at home 'till they get here. Just watch your step."

From her place at Minato's side, Tsukiumi sniffed, wrinkling her nose. "Were I ever to call such a squalid place home, I think I would drown myself out of shame. It could be called a crime to live amongst such filth."

Hikari and Hibiki had split up and gone to different corners of the apartment to start removing trash, but at Tsukiumi's comment, Hikari straightened up, still clutching a can or two in her hand. Tiny sparks of electricity began to jump from her skin. "We didn't have time to clean up," she replied, giving Tsukiumi a glare. "If Seo hadn't been busy figuring out how the hell to help out your little friends for free, maybe we would have."

Tsukiumi's folded arms tensed. "They are no friends of mine!" she shouted. "I still find it cowardly that they wish to run from the battle when we must stay and fight." Her angry proclamation made Minato and the others give her various looks, ranging from mild to extreme disapproval. Her face flushed slightly and her lips puckered into a small pout, but she managed to continue speaking before anyone else could interrupt her. "That does not matter, though. It is my Ashikabi's will that I help them. I am here because that is his desire, and because I know he will need my strength—my own feelings on this matter aside, I will not allow him to be harmed, much as that child Kuno would not allow Shigi to be harmed."

After a moment, Minato stopped staring at her, then gave her a curt nod and a warm smile, before siting down next to Seo on the couch. Tsukiumi did not follow, but Akitsu and Musubi both settled onto the couch as soon as Minato sat down. Minato then turned his attention completely to Seo again, and his smile disappeared. "I don't expect you to go into detail about the plan, Seo-san, but can you at least tell me how much resistance we might be facing if we go through with this?"

Seo grunted and rubbed at the bristly stubble on his chin. "Well, hopefully not a lot," he said, "but if things go wrong, well, that's another story entirely." It was then that Minato noticed the slight bags under Seo's eyes, the lines pulling at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, a nasty feeling began to bubble up in Minato's stomach. "If we're lucky, that won't happen. If we're not, put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye."

Unable to respond, Minato just nodded, and they sat in awkward silence until Haruka finally knocked at the door.

* * *

**7:30 PM**

To Minato's surprise, the plan itself was pretty straightforward.

After being introduced to Haruka and Kuno, Seo, Hikari, and Hibiki spread out a map of the city on the kitchen table. Musubi, Akitsu, and Tsukiumi all hovered around Minato's seat at the table as Seo explained the plan to them. Matsu's initial investigations proved correct, as Seo immediately identified the escape point as the Araha River Bridge on the northern edge of the city, at the very border between Teitou and another district. "It's not guarded that well, mostly because it's in the northern part of the city," he said. A weary, but confident grin was plastered onto his face. "You make it through there, you're pretty much good to go."

"There's a catch, though," Haruka said, frowning as he stared down at the red thumbtack that marked the bridge. Beside him, Kuno clutched his arm nervously as she looked around the apartment; Hikari and Hibiki had finished cleaning up some time ago, and were leaning on the back of the couch, watching the meeting dispassionately. "There's got to be one. Why would MBI just leave that bridge open and unguarded? What's so special about the northern part of the city?"

Seo's grin stretched wider. "A hannya lives in that part of the city. And MBI knows better than to cross a demon like that, especially if they want the Sekirei Plan to keep running smoothly." He looked across the table and gave Minato a subtle look and a quick wink before turning his attention back to the map. Minato gave him a quizzical stare in reply, but when Seo didn't bother to explain himself. "Anyway, I can't help you out past this point, and if you're seriously going to give this a shot, you've gotta go tomorrow night at the latest. Put it off any longer and you're probably screwed."

Musubi blinked. "But no guards are going to be there, right, Seo-san? Then why rush?"

"MBI keeps tabs on us all sorts of ways, kid," Seo said. He folded his arms and sat down in a chair, and Hikari and Hibiki moved to stand behind him. "Hikari and Hibiki were all over the city scouting out escape routes for this plan, and there's no way in hell MBI didn't notice that. If I go with you, I'm gonna be putting myself into danger—I'm not going to accept that risk for me or my girls. Our position in this madness isn't that strong."

Haruka's frown grew sharper for a few brief moments, but he took a deep breath through his nose and shook his head. "That's fine," he said. "You did this much for us already. We can handle the rest. But if we might be watched as closely as you say, how do we make sure MBI doesn't interfere with us between now and tomorrow night?"

"Go stay with Minato," Seo replied. A sudden yawn caused his jaw to stretch to the cracking point, and he rubbed his eye once or twice as his mouth snapped shut. "You'll be safe at Izumo Inn, and it's only a little bit farther from the bridge than this place is. Plus, you all can move as a group when it's time for you to go. I'll talk Miya into letting you and your Sekirei crash there for the night."

Haruka's expression darkened. "But there were things I wanted to take with me, and they're back at my place downtown. I gotta go back for them."

"You can't say that you're worried about getting caught by MBI and then do something so stupid," Hikari said. Hibiki nodded in agreement with the blunt statement, and Haruka sent a weak glare in their general direction. Hikari just raised an eyebrow and leaned onto Seo's chair, allowing a smirk to cross her face. "You'll just have to make do with the clothes on your back and the crap in your pockets. If MBI is on to us and you go back to your apartment, you're going to get bushwhacked."

For a moment, it looked like Haruka was going to argue the point, but Minato shook his head and pushed his chair back to stand up. "He's right, Shigi-san. I know it's terribly inconvenient, but if it comes down to it you may have to do without your things. If you really need them, we could go to your place between classes tomorrow and grab whatever we can. Otherwise, we'll both skip classes for the day and just try to be ready to make a break for it in the evening."

Minato's argument defused Haruka's temper entirely, and he sighed, nodding his agreement to Minato's proposal. Satisfied with that, Minato then turned his attention to Seo, and bowed deeply in the scruffy Ashikabi's direction. "Seo-san, Hikari-san, Hibiki-san," he said, after standing up straight, "thank you for helping us plan this out. I know it was really dangerous for you to do it, and I appreciate the fact that you took the risk, especially since Matsu kind of bullied you out of a payment. I owe you."

Seo leaned back in the chair and waved his right hand around loosely. "Aah, don't worry about it too much. Wouldn't have been worth getting paid for this if it had meant Miya was gonna stop feeding me. Just try not to botch it, all right?" He pointed at Haruka and Kuno with a blunt thumb and a crooked smile, ignoring their confused expressions. "You're the only Ashikabi around these parts worth associating with aside from the squirt and his wallflower girl here. If you got your ass kicked by the Disciplinary Squad, I'd lose the only friend I've got these days." _And Miya would probably tear down MBI with her bare hands if they wound up hurting you,_ he thought. _It'd be a hell of a show, but she'd probably break in half afterward, and God save this city if that happened._

Minato returned Seo's cheerful expression with a smile of his own, trying to look braver than he felt. "Don't worry. We'll be just fine. Count on that."

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**8:15 PM**

Without Minato and his Sekirei hanging around Izumo Inn, it was terribly quiet for a Sunday evening, and the residents that were at home clearly didn't know what to do with themselves. Miya was in the kitchen putting away dishes and setting aside plates for the others to re-heat and eat when they came in, but her movements across the wooden floor were slow and meandering. Matsu and Uzume were holed up in their respective bedrooms, and only came out for bathroom breaks, or to get a drink of water. Kusano had fallen asleep under one of the trees in the yard, and Homura had come in just before 8 PM and immediately gone to take a bath.

Some time after Homura's entrance into the baths, a slight breeze picked up outside, and the sound of rustling leaves and creaking boughs woke Kusano from her sleep. She yawned, and scrubbed the sand from her eyes with a tiny, balled-up fist, then slowly got to her feet and wandered inside, taking care to wipe her bare feet on the steps up to the porch. She looked toward the kitchen, barely hearing Miya continue to walk around in there, then shook her head and turned away, heading for the stairs and Minato's bedroom.

As she passed by the door to the baths, smacking her lips, it slid open, and Homura stepped out, dressed in his usual loose shirt and slacks. Kusano jumped, and looked over to the door to see where the nose had come from. When she looked at Homura, she relaxed for a second, then froze; his top was buttoned up to just above his sternum, so she could clearly see the bandages swathing his chest—as well as the way that his chest seemed far less flat than a man's should. She also noticed the strange burn-like scars marking the back of his hands and the parts of his wrists that she could see; they were faded, nowhere near fresh, but still visible against his pale skin.

Homura noticed Kusano's shocked expression, and managed a soft smile. "I'm sorry, Kuu. Did I frighten you?"

"I-I'm OK, Kaga-nii-chan," Kusano said, pulling her head out of the clouds. She almost wanted to ask about the bandages, but that slight distance between him and her, as well as his height advantage, held her tongue. "Kuu wasn't scared, just surprised." She smiled, putting her fists on her hips and nodding, puffing out her chest. "I'm a big girl, after all~"

Homura patted her on the head, causing her to wiggle and squeal a bit. "You really are. Sorry about making you jump, Kuu." For a moment, though, his eyes seemed to stare through the wall, far past Izumo Inn's borders, before he took a breath and came back to himself. "Do you know where Miya or Matsu are?"

Kusano tilted her head. She couldn't hear Matsu moving around anywhere upstairs, but from the serious look on the bespectacled Sekirei's face, Kusano could guess that Matsu probably hadn't gone anywhere. "Ma-nee-chan is in her room, and Miya-nee-san is in the kitchen. Though, I think Ma-nee-chan might be really hard at work on something, she's been in her room almost all day."

Homura took his hand off of Kuu's head and wandered toward the kitchen. "I'll go bother Miya, then. Thank you, Kuu."

As Kusano replied with a cheerful, if slightly absent, humming sound, Homura sighed, and shook his head. _The moment Kuu looked at me, I knew she saw the bandages,_ he thought._ But I don't know if she saw them, or what was underneath them. And at the rate they're growing, I won't be able to hide them. _He also knew from very bitter experience that his weight had shifted around a bit, more to his hips than anything, and that his body proportions were changing just as slowly. He'd been taking the medicine on time and on schedule, and he hadn't "lost" anything, but...it was happening regardless, and he wouldn't be able to stop it unless he found an Ashikabi—which he was trying to do, and failing miserably at. He was practically the most-requested host at the club and had yet to experience anything close to a reaction with any of the women he encountered.

If it wasn't for the fact that he hadn't expected to be successful in the first place, he would have been a lot more upset.

Eventually, he got his thoughts to board a different train as he stepped into the kitchen. He wouldn't be able to hide...the changes for much longer, only a few more weeks at best. He would have to tell Miya what was going on, then Matsu the next time he saw her. The promise he'd made to the latter nagged at him, mostly because he was planning on ignoring it to do what he had to do, but his job as a Sekirei Guardian was too important for his own damnable body to stop him.

"Homura-kun, you shouldn't be walking around like that when your breasts are growing in," Miya said, her voice flat.

Homura jumped out of his skin, forgetting entirely that Miya was there. As she turned from the sink to watch him, Homura sucked in a breath to slow his hammering heart and muttered a few choice swears under his breath. "M-Miya! Could you please not...what if Kuu had heard you?" His voice dropped to a hiss, but he took Miya's implied suggestion and buttoned his shirt all the way up. "She already saw this, the last thing she needs is to start getting curious and start asking Sahashi or someone about why 'Kagari-san' has breasts!"

Rather than laugh even slightly at his remark, Miya continued to look calmly at him, and her sobriety helped Homura calm himself. Once he was clearly less flustered than before, Miya spoke again. "This is a reaction, Homura-kun. I think that for all your talk about being cursed by fire and never being suited for an Ashikabi, your instincts know otherwise. Matsu told me about the promise you made to her. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain now that your condition is getting worse."

Homura couldn't help the sigh that came through his nose. "I would," he said, "but we haven't even hit the third stage yet. There are still Sekirei out there that need protection. And I'm not so unstable that I can't—"

With deceptive calm, Miya drew closer to him, leaving the dirty dishes in the sink, and shook her head. "You are wrong. I saw it once before. You tried to light a fire, and it wouldn't spark up properly." She then gestured at his hands, or more accurately, at his burn scars. "And then there are those burn marks. You had an episode sometime recently, didn't you?"

Homura pressed his lips together and didn't say a word, but for Miya that was about as blatant a "yes" as she was expecting to get.

"I admire your steadfastness in trying to keep the Sekirei safe, Homura-kun. But you have to remember that you are only one man. You can't do this to yourself anymore. Your own happiness and your own safety aren't unimportant as compared to the lives of those un-winged Sekirei." Miya's voice then took on a hard edge, going from motherly to commanding in the space of a breath. "Even if you want to delude yourself into thinking that they are."

Her choice of words caused Homura to tense and respond on reflex. He stepped forward slightly and stared directly into Miya's lavender eyes, and inadvertently began to let his fire burn, warming the air. "Miya, I can't rely on my own body, my own power. I am in the middle of turning into a woman, for God's sake! I can't have happiness or safety or anything for myself if I can't even be me! So all I have to believe in or fight for are things that aren't about me." Visible trails of smoke began to come from his skin, but Miya stayed cool as he continued to rant. "Things that are going to stay more constant than me, things that are going to outlast me, that's all I have left to devote myself to. So even if it kills me, I am going to protect those Sekirei and I am going to kill Hiroto Minaka. If this stupid, broken, flame-eaten carcass can't do anything more than that before it gives out, then that's fine with me!"

"But it's not fine with me," Miya said. She put a hand on Homura's shoulder, ignoring the heat that came from his body. However, her hands were still damp from washing dishes, so the rising temperature caused steam to slowly rise up from the contact. "It's not fine with Sahashi-san, or Musubi-san, or Matsu-san. It's not fine with Kuu-chan, or Akitsu-san, or Uzume-san. None of them would want to see you deliberately throw away yourself, no matter how noble the goal is." Her eyes tightened and sharpened, becoming dispassionate on the surface; however, Homura could see the raw emotion pouring out from them, the slight tremor in her hand as she squeezed on his shoulder. "Homura. Please. I refuse to let anyone else in this house martyr themselves. Not after Takehito."

Homura continued to stare at his landlady, the woman he respected for both her strength and her compassion, then let out a breath, and with it, released his fire. Miya smiled as he cooled down, and as soon as his core was close to normal human temperatures again, she drew him into a tight hug. "I know I can't stop you from making your own decisions, Homura. So I'll just ask you to remember the people that care about you when you do make your decisions. Remember that your choices affect more than just you."

Several moments passed in silence before Homura spoke up. "As expected from number 01. Thanks, Miya. I...lost my head a bit." He made to pull away gently, and Miya let him; when they made eye contact after that, Miya was Miya again, down to the serene smile and the impeccable posture. "I'll try to take it easier, but...I have this feeling, deep down. Things are only going to get harder."

Miya looked to the counter where she prepared most of her meals, at a small wireless phone charging on the cradle there. She remembered the call she had gotten from Seo not more than fifteen minutes ago, informing her that Minato would be bringing home a Sekirei and an Ashikabi that were going to be breaking out of Shintou Teitou tomorrow evening.

"I think you're right, Homura-kun," she said. "Completely."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_As you can tell, I got a little bit entangled in my real life again. That, and a bit of writer's block, is what held this chapter up for so long. But I feel much more satisfied with where it's going now, and felt it was up to publishing standards, so I decided to get it out when I had the chance. I've been experimenting a little more with my writing while working this chapter, so I think it feels a little closer to the longer style I started with a while ago._

_Review Responses:_

_As usual, I'll first thank those readers who simply read and enjoy without specific comments for sticking with me despite the lag in updates. _

_FreeTraderBeowulf: Thank you for the compliments. Insofar as staying true to Minato's characterization, it's mostly just a matter of trying to recall the Cliffs Notes of his character traits that I keep in my head: "compassionate and mature, with a drive to do the right thing". Despite that, I sometimes feel like he's not as complex as he could be, and that he comes off a little too perfect._

Regarding a sequel: I've gotten into the habit of splitting stories mostly to accommodate my semi-irregular RL schedules. That said, a sequel to this story is...on the table, but it wouldn't be an immediate development. I would be more invested in either doing some one-shots to loosen up for a Substitute School sequel, or jumping straight into where I left off with my Substitute School pre-writing. I'm not really sure what I would like to do more at the moment.

_At any rate, Bellflowers and Wagtails will end within the next two chapters. What's coming next are a few scenes I've been looking forward to for a while, so I may have to grind a bit to get them out of my head properly. Hopefully I'll be back with the new chapter two weeks from now.  
_

_Take care, all, and enjoy._

_~ZS_


	14. Flying Away, Uprooting, and Blooming

_**Shintou Teitou, Teitou Tower**_

_**2019**_

_**Friday, Unknown Time**_

_The foremost thought in Masaru Takada's brain when he woke up from his dreamless slumber—once the pain in his forehead died down enough for him to think—was about how stupid he had been to charge into Teitou Tower in the first place. His body still ached and stung from the savage beating he'd endured, and from what little he could remember of it, he shouldn't have walked away from it. After a moment, Masaru realized that he was locked in an eerily white room, empty of everything except the cot, a gray bin, and two doors, one on the wall behind him and the other on the wall in front of him; the first door had a knob, but the other did not. A clean set of clothes was laid out on the foot of the cot, with a note on top of them. _

_Masaru leaned forward and grabbed the note, reading it aloud in a voice pained by two days of disuse. "'Good morning, Mr. Takada. As you may not recall, you were in an entanglement with my bodyguard Karasuba two days ago.'" His eyes widened slightly, and he stopped to stare blankly at the paper before shaking his head and continuing. "'We took the liberty of patching you up, and I decided that it would better serve MBI's interests if you were kept in our custody for the time being. Place your dirty clothes in the bin, and feel free to use the shower and the bathroom in the room on the rear wall. You are free to practice your martial arts as long as you don't try to escape or to use them on the people that come to supervise or visit you. Do anything stupid, and I promise that you'll pay for it with more than just a beating. Regards, President Hiroto Minaka, Mid-Bio Informatics.'"_

_After a few moments, Masaru balled up the note and flashed a very rude hand gesture at the ceiling, then laid back down, snorting loudly. "Patronizing asshole."_

_He lay there for what could have been an hour or two, his petulant expression gradually softening into a serious, brooding frown as he began to consider actual avenues of escape, before he heard a slight sound at the knob-less door. He sat up with a slight wince as the door slid open and a familiar gray-haired woman, dressed in a black, long-sleeved top and matching miniskirt, stepped inside, her baggy eyes half-open and a smirk playing across her thin lips. "Good evening, Masa-chan," Karasuba said, shrugging off her gray overcoat and leaving it at the door. She then pulled her feet out of her boots, and slowly sauntered over to Masaru's bed before she sat down on the edge of it and stared him right in the eyes. "How are we feeling?"_

_There was something extremely disturbing about the way Karasuba kept eying him, but Masaru kept his cool. His body throbbed anew as it remembered the sharp pain of her fists battering it mercilessly; during their fight, he'd managed to disarm her with the burst of speed and strength provided by his Tanden Renki technique, but he'd been dead wrong about just how skilled a fighter she was without a katana in hand. "Fine, thanks. Though I reckon your boss ought to fire whoever does his interior designing for his prison rooms. This place is borin' as hell."_

_Karasuba chuckled, and Masaru's spine nearly crawled out of his mouth. "You have permission to practice, you know. And if you're really that starved for company, I wouldn't mind hanging around a little bit."_

"_What for?" Masaru asked. He kept telling himself to quit twitching, to suppress the urge to run as far away from her as he could. He recognized that little glint in her eye that kept going and coming as she stared at him. It was the look of someone who saw something and was outright hungry for it. "Ain't you got your own things to be doing instead of hanging 'round a beat-up prisoner?"_

"_I have nothing to do for just about a year or so," she said. "And you're the first person to actually make me bleed. Better yet, you're only human." She tapped her lip, and Masaru found his eyes drawn to the spot. Sure enough, there was a thin red mark there, visible only because of how pale her skin was. Masaru's hand twitched as he remembered that his punch that had split the skin wide open, remembered that the wound had been much bigger. Two days healing shouldn't have been enough to fix it that much. "You are pretty much the most interesting thing I have to deal with until that year passes by, and I'm looking forward to it." _

_Masaru grunted and turned away from Karasuba's sleepy smile. Then, his mind rewound to focus on something else Karasuba had just said, and he glanced at her sidelong. "And what exactly is so special about me bein' human? You're makin' it sound like you're not."_

_Karasuba's smile opened up, displaying a flash of teeth in a predator's leer, and her eyes opened even more as she slid slightly closer to him and leaned close to his ear, sighing in contentment. Her breath tickled his face, but he felt no attraction to her, only fear bubbling up from the deepest part of his stomach and burning his heart. "That punch you hit me with could have killed a normal person. The fact that I'm still right here in front of you with only a busted lip should tell you something."_

_Masaru finally gave in to his instinct and stood up, his discomfort and fear peaking. Karasuba's hand lashed out like a viper and gripped his wrist. Her smile was instantly replaced with a frown, and her eyes were wide open, glaring angrily at him. Masaru winced in agony as he felt the bones shifting and cracking in her grip, and he slowly sat down again. When he did, she let go of his wrist and shoved her hand under his chin, digging into his cheeks with her fingers. "Now, now, Masa-chan, settle down," she said. Her voice hadn't changed in the slightest, but that mad stare on her face made her feelings crystal clear. "I'm already spoken for, and a dead hostage means absolutely nothing, so you don't need to be afraid of me trying to rape or murder you." She began to squeeze again, and Masaru couldn't help but wince as he felt her fingers press into his cheekbones and jawbones. "I would like an apology for your rudeness, and then we can go on and make nice, civilized conversation. If you insist on being impolite, though, I can deal with that just fine."_

"_I'm sorry." He almost spat the words out to spite her, but he was reminded by the pain arcing through his face that she would kill him if he pressed her, all her words to the contrary be damned. "I was just overreactin'. Won't happen again."_

_Karasuba's wild-eyed, stony glare disappeared, and in its place was a hungry smile that flashed almost every tooth in her mouth. She pushed Masaru back onto the cot, leaning over him, slowly inching closer and closer to his face. "That's good. We've got about an hour before dinner comes along, so why don't we sit and talk about you? I like to get to know my friends as quickly as I can. It makes things fun."_

_Masaru slowly pulled himself back into an upright position, causing Karasuba to back up and sit back on the cot like she had been when she came in. Though his eyes stayed trained on Karasuba without wavering, Masaru's face was still red where she'd gripped him just moments ago, and slight tremors passed through his hands as he spoke, deliberately affecting a calmness that he most certainly did not feel. "Sure. We can talk about me for a while. What do ya want to know?"_

* * *

_**~Petal 14: Flying Away, Uprooting, and Blooming ~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**2020**

**Monday, 5 PM**

On Monday morning, Minato left for school with the intention of keeping up appearances before going for the escape. Haruka stayed behind at the inn, only going back to his apartment to pick up his belongings with Kuno in tow. Kazehana tagged along with him for safety's sake, and despite the fact that Haruka was in the company of two Sekirei, the MBI guards at the train station let them by without incident. They made it back to Izumo Inn just as the clock struck five. With a sigh, Haruka took off his shoes, put them in the shelves at the door, and made for the porch with Kuno right behind him; she carried the backpack that they'd stuffed with a change of clothing, some cash, and small bits of food on her back.

"Shigi-kun. Are you all right?"

Kazehana's question stopped Haruka in his tracks, and he turned around to face Kazehana with an arched eyebrow. Her naturally narrow eyes were focused, and her mouth wasn't in its usual pert smile. After a moment, Haruka sighed and shrugged. "I'm about as all right as I can be, given the circumstances. More than anything, I just want to get out of here." He blinked and cursed under his breath when he realized what he'd said. "I mean, I want to get out of this city. Once I'm out of here, Kuno and I can breathe a lot easier."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Kazehana said, folding her arms. Her grim expression made Kuno cringe away from her and hide behind Haruka. "MBI will be monitoring your bank accounts very closely once you're gone. If you use your card, or show up in too many places with camera footage, they may be able to use that to track you down." Despite the frown on her face, her voice softened considerably. "Are you sure you'll be able to do this?"

Haruka shook his head, then curled a hand around Kuno's shoulders, squeezing her into his body. "Not at all. But I'm gonna figure out how. I've got one too many people relying on me, so I can't mess it up." He forced a cheeky smile onto his face. "And after all the hard work Sahashi-san put into getting this plan together, I don't think I've got it in me to disappoint him, either."

Kazehana hadn't been alive as long as she had without learning how to read people. It was all a show of bravado on his part, but Haruka wasn't deluding himself—he knew the risks, and was willing to do what he had to regardless. A smile came back to her face as she contemplated that thought. She could admire that kind of loyalty to a Sekirei in an Ashikabi, even a young and reckless Ashikabi. "My, my. Minato-kun, and now you, Shigi-kun...brave men are all over this city, it would seem." She winked saucily at him. "If I'd known about you earlier, I might have made a try at you, but I think you and little Kuno-chan are more than suited to each other. You just remember that you promised to keep her safe, okay?"

Haruka nodded once, his face set into a firm frown. He squeezed Kuno again, and the small Sekirei blushed violently, instinctively folding herself further into his embrace. "You got it." He then turned to Kuno with a light grin. "Better go eat now, right? Sahashi-san's supposed to be here in fifteen minutes or so, and we probably won't have time for it later if we don't get dinner before his Sekirei do."

"Of course, Shigi-sama," Kuno replied, smiling up at him.

Haruka groaned as he walked away; with a small gasp, Kuno quickly fell into step right behind him. "Come on, Klutzy, quit calling me that!" he said, ruffling her hair. "You're my girl! You don't have to be so damn formal all the time!"

"But, Shigi-sama, I'm Kuno, not Klutzy..."

Kazehana watched the happy couple go with a wistful smile on her face. Idly, she ran a hand across her lips and wondered what Minato was doing. Deep down, she hoped that what she had planned for him would really make her forget that she had ever wanted his real father as her Ashikabi.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**7:00 PM**

Half an hour after Haruka and Kuno made it in, Minato came through the door of Izumo Inn with Musubi, Akitsu, and Tsukiumi following right behind him. Not long after that, Minato's Sekirei scattered throughout the Inn to eat, shower, and generally prepare themselves for the escape; Minato, for his part, went out to the yard and sat down to do breathing exercises. He wasn't out there for more than a few moments before Miya's voice broke his concentration. "Sahashi-san, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have to ask you something."

Minato stood up and turned toward the porch, where Miya stood with her hands behind her back and her eyes locked directly on him. "Sure, Asama-san. What's the matter?"

Miya's expression grew more somber as she straightened up. "It's about...tonight. I'm concerned about just how prepared you are for this."

"Matsu-san and Seo-san planned it out extremely well," Minato said, shaking his head. He felt a tremor run through his hands, but he stilled it with a short, quiet breath. "Everything will be fine, Asama-san. Trust me."

Miya stepped down into the yard and walked over to Minato, staring directly into his face. Her lips gradually pulled into a frown. "Sahashi-san, you've been living here long enough for me to know when you're trying to hide things from me. You've been tense ever since you came back from Seo's apartment with Shigi-san and Kuno-san. If you're worried about something going wrong, then postpone this until you feel that you're ready."

"We won't have another chance, Asama-san," Minato said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and ignored the voice in his head telling him not to keep blowing off her concerns. "We all have to be ready now, whether we like it or not. I made a promise to Shigi-san and Kuno-san, and I'm going to keep it."

Though Minato's tone left no room for argument, Miya ignored it and kept looking him straight in the face. "I wasn't worried about that part, Sahashi-san. You're a good young man, but you tend to get a bit too absorbed in your problems, sometimes to the detriment of the people around you. Just remember that you are important to a lot of people, and that they need you to be present in the moment."

Before Minato could ask for clarification on that statement, Miya went inside. Unable to think of why she would say such things to him, he sat back down and went back to meditating, allowing her words to rattle around in his head while he tried to think of what exactly he might have done wrong.

As she came inside, Miya walked past none other than Tsukiumi, who was leaning against the wall just to the right of the door that led to the porch. When Miya passed her, Tsukiumi looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and said, "You seem in poor spirits today, Landlady-sama."

Miya pulled on her smile as she turned to Tsukiumi. "It's nothing much, Tsukiumi-san. Your Ashikabi is just...a rather stubborn man, when he puts his mind to it."

Tsukiumi sighed and rolled her eyes. "An understatement, indeed. The man's been wrapped in his hero complex from the day we met Shigi and Kuno." Her frown became a little more bitter as she shifted her legs slightly. "It makes me wonder if 'twas even worth it to become his Sekirei. He pays Akitsu and Musubi more attention than me, and always criticizes my behavior even when I speak nothing but truth." She chuckled bitterly. "Yet here I am still supporting this mad plan he has conceived. Landlady-sama, what kind of madwoman am I to stay with such a man?"

Miya's smile softened as she fully faced Tsukiumi. "The kind of madwoman that believes he really does care about you. And frankly, I do think he cares. If he didn't care, he wouldn't correct you when he feels you're wrong. That said, he has let himself get wrapped up in trying to help out those two, and it's making him a bit dense." She gestured to the door that she'd just come through. "Why not tell him how you feel yourself? He's right out there."

For a moment, Tsukiumi seemed resolute enough to do just that, but as she turned to go, her movements slowed, and she bit her lip. Then, she shook her head, and said, "Not now. When this is all said and done, he will listen." She shook her head, trying to clear the trepidation from her face as she unconsciously put the tip of her thumbnail into her mouth. "It can wait."

Miya sighed. _Of all the things that someone as bold as Tsukiumi-san would be afraid of, it would be actually confronting others about her feelings._ Rather than press Tsukiumi, though, she let the matter rest, and began to walk away to the kitchen. "Then be prepared to go when he calls on you. He'll need you at your best if you run into trouble."

Tsukiumi nodded, then turned back to the door, pressing her lips together into a tight frown.

* * *

**Shintou Teitou**

**8:00 PM**

At the appointed time, Minato, Haruka, their Sekirei, and Kazehana all headed out from Izumo Inn, going straight to the north to reach the bridge. Matsu stayed behind at Izumo Inn to coordinate extra support, mostly by monitoring the sky and the airwaves for any activity from MBI, while Miya barred Kusano from going ("This is too dangerous, Kuu-chan. Stay here with me and help me make dinner tonight, okay?"). The streets were quiet and cold, with no one else in sight, and the moon cast long shadows across the pavement. Musubi and Tsukiumi took the lead, while Akitsu, Tsukiumi, and Kazehana took the back. Kuno, Haruka and Minato walked together in the center. Their steps echoed off of the pavement and bounced off the walls of the buildings, filling the unnatural silence. On occasion, the group would look up into the sky, checking to see if there were any helicopters flying overhead, but every time they looked, they saw nothing there. The earpiece that Matsu had given to Minato, synched with his phone so that Matsu had a direct line to communicate with him, stayed silent as well, only amplifying his paranoid unease about the entire situation.

Eventually, they crossed the last intersection on the quiet streets, and stood several feet away from the Araha River Station, approaching it from the east side. Like most of the other buildings in Shintou Teitou, it was pure white, shining in the darkness of the night. The bold black kanji that declared the station's name were placed just above the entryway, outlined with blue neon lighting; though they couldn't see the ramp that led up there, Minato did see a few buses parked on the bridge itself, near the second-floor exit of the Station. Minato's earpiece buzzed slightly as the group got closer, and he quickly signaled everyone to stop and get behind a nearby sculpture made of black marble. _"Mina-tan, there are three guards at the entrance," _Matsu said. _"I've gotten into their communications, so when you give the word, I can shut them down from here. But once I do that, you have to move as fast as you can! Even with the light numbers on that side of town, they'll be certain to send backup once the blackout happens."_

Minato chanced a peek around the sculpture to verify Matsu's claims. Just as she'd said, MBI soldiers stood in front of the sliding glass doors, rifles in hand and eyes scanning the nearby area. With a quiet curse, Minato pulled his head back and faced the others. Keeping his voice low, he said, "Matsu-san's ready to go, but if we don't get rid of those guards, we're not getting anywhere. If someone else distracts them, I might be able to knock them out quickly."

Tsukiumi responded to Minato's suggestion by lightly cuffing his forehead with the edge of her hand. "I think not! This plan carries enough risk without you putting yourself in the way of bullets! One of us Sekirei should do it. Our reflexes are more than enough to avoid the peril of being shot."

Musubi nodded her agreement, as did Akitsu. Kuno bit her lip, watching the entire scene with a little trepidation. Then, Kazehana sighed, smiling in her usual purse-lipped way. "A distraction, hmm? I think I can handle that. Just follow my lead." Without further explanation, she sashayed out from behind the sculpture, leaving everyone except for Akitsu and Musubi completely flabbergasted.

Two of the guards saw Kazehana coming from a mile away, thanks to the clicking of her heels on the pavement, but their caution was immediately overridden by lust as they watched Kazehana's hips and bust bounce and sway to a beat all their own. The one who hadn't been distracted right away was taking a moment to check what looked like an iPhone, and as soon as Kazehana got into speaking range, he put away the device, shifted his gun back into his hands, and said, "Ma'am, I need to see some identification."

"Why, certainly," Kazehana replied. She slowly raised her free hand from its place on her hip, then snapped her fingers. A violent wind swept all three of the guards off of their feet, but before they could even radio for help or shout, Akitsu moved forward from behind the pillar and concentrated her powers, releasing a calm breath.

The guards were immediately encased in ice from head to toe without a single sound.

"Where exactly were you planning on even pulling that ID out from?" Haruka muttered as he and the others came out from behind the sculpture.

Kazehana simply smiled, dipped two fingers very slightly into her cleavage, and pulled out a black MBI credit card, then put it back with a wink and a flourish of the hand. Haruka blinked a few times, then went red in the face and quickly looked away from Kazehana with several indignant coughs. Minato simply rubbed his nose and muttered something about "damnable hormones" before he tapped his earpiece, turning on the microphone. "Matsu-san, we're clear. Get their communications down."

Once Matsu reported that the jamming was up, the group surged forward, dashing straight through the doors. Several guards were standing around in the foyer—two by the stairs to the second floor, two near the front desk to the right side, and two in front of a side hallway on the left side. Akitsu and Musubi took deep breaths, gathering their power, and burst into action; Akitsu flung her hand out to the left and flash-froze the guards to the nearest wall with a burst of ice, while Musubi took a powerful running jump to the stairwell and knocked over the guards there with a flying kick. The guards at the desk raised their guns, but before they could fire, a burst of water hit them and sent them flying down the halls. Tsukiumi lowered her hand and scoffed in annoyance, tossing her hair back with a shake of her head, then joined up with the others as they ran towards Musubi and the stairwell, her heels clicking on the marble floor.

"Musubi, grab Shigi-san!" Minato said as they drew close. "Akitsu, grab Kuno-san! I want the two of you to make a break for the bridge! The rest of us will cover you and then catch up as soon as we can!"

The two Sekirei nodded their understanding and got a hold of their respective 'packages' as soon as they could; Musubi took Haruka by the wrist, while Akitsu literally scooped Kuno into her arms. Haruka and Kuno had just enough time to share a worried, perplexed glance before Musubi and Akitsu took off like rockets, heading straight forward and bowling over any unfortunate guards in the way. In their wake, Minato, Tsukiumi, and Kazehana made sure to knock out or otherwise incapacitate anyone that hadn't been put out of commission by Musubi and Akitsu's wild charge forward. Not long after Akitsu and Musubi got out onto the bridge proper, Minato, Tsukiumi, and Kazehana all came out of the station. The only one between the three of them that wasn't gasping for air (Tsukiumi) or sweating profusely (Minato) was Kazehana, and even she wasn't smiling quite as much as she normally did. After a few moments to gather themselves, the group set out across the right side of the six-lane bridge; Musubi and Akitsu were still carrying Haruka (who felt like his arm was about to pop out of its socket) and Kuno (who was feeling surprisingly comfortable despite the fact that Akitsu's hands were rather cold).

"Matsu-san, are we clear?" Minato asked, casting nervous glances up at the sky. It had been several minutes since they'd stormed their way in, and by now MBI was bound to have noticed something going on.

It took several moments for Matsu to respond, and by the time she did, they'd crossed roughly a third of the bridge._"Yes, and no."_

Minato felt his teeth grinding against one another as he kept running forward to match pace with the others. "Now's really not the time for jokes, Matsu-san!"

He didn't hear Matsu's reply, as Tsukiumi stopped and put a hand out to block his way. He stopped as well, and scowled in annoyance, ready to ask her just what she was doing, but stopped when he saw two figures standing in the road up ahead. Musubi and Akitsu stopped moving as well, allowing Haruka and Kuno to get a good look at the people blocking their way. Immediately, Haruka's face went pale, and he whispered, "The Indigo Sekirei?"

The taller of the two figures chuckled, her voice quiet and raspy. Her silver hair, tied into a long, low ponytail, gleamed in the moonlight, as did the sharp metal gauntlets peeking out from her raggedy-sleeved black kimono, which was bound to her body by a sash and two thin belts at the waist. Beneath her clothing, she was completely covered by bandages, and a tight studded collar with a metal ring hanging from the front sat around her neck. "Ku ku ku ku. If it isn't the little runaway. Came to try again, I see?"

Musubi gently let go of Haruka, and Akitsu put down Kuno with roughly the same amount of force; the escapees both scrambled back to where Minato, Akitsu, and Kazehana were standing. Without even the slightest shred of fear, Musubi looked at the Indigo Sekirei's partner, a thin, petite girl with pink hair wearing dark gloves similar to Musubi's. Flower-shaped hairpins decorated the left side of her head, near the ear, and tied her hair off into a high ponytail. She wore a black kimono top with long, drooping sleeves, and a red sash was wrapped around her waist, tied off into a large bow on her right side.

"You've met these guys before, Haihane?" the pink-haired Sekirei asked. "You never told me anything about this." She returned Musubi's careful glance with a flat stare, dusting off a speck of dirt on her black, knee-length tights, then tightened the same hand into a fist. "I already told you, I called dibs on number 88. I don't care if the Black Sekirei marked her or not, I haven't had a chance to test my strength against another hand-to-hand fighter before."

Unsurprisingly, Musubi responded to the challenge by taking her Rindoukan stance. "Who are you?" she asked the pink-haired Sekirei. "And who's the Black Sekirei?"

"Number 04," Akitsu replied. She fixed both Haihane and the pink-haired Sekirei with her coldest stare, and let out a small breath rimed with frost. "Karasuba."

"That's right," the pink-haired Sekirei said. "As for me, my name is Benitsubasa, number 105." She stepped forward and cracked her knuckles, then licked her lips and crouched into a fighting stance, legs tense and ready to spring. "I'm the Crimson Sekirei, and a proud member of the Disciplinary Squad. Either you and your little friends turn around now, or Haihane and I will pound you flatter than pancakes."

Haihane chuckled again, allowing her arms to dangle limply. The hooked fingers of her clawed gauntlets scraped against the concrete as she hunched over slightly, leering at the group. "They all look like a bunch of snot-nosed little kids. You sure there's going to be enough to flatten in the first place?"

Minato gritted his teeth, and in response to Haihane's taunt, Tsukiumi stepped forward, her hair rising as water swirled around her feet. "Do you truly think we fear you? You're dressed like a mongrel and smell like one as well." Tsukiumi then spared a glance to Musubi, who was holding a perfect Rindoukan stance with utter calm and certainty, then nodded in satisfaction and turned her attention fully forward again. "Musubi, do not be distracted. For you to lose to such a childish brat would be the height of shame."

Musubi allowed her mouth to stretch into a wide, cheerful grin. "Don't worry about me, Tsukiumi-san! Minato-shishou taught me a lot, and so did Landlady-sama! I absolutely won't lose to a kid like Benitsubasa-chan!"

The mention of Minato's name (and the insults from his Sekirei) made Benitsubasa's eyes narrow momentarily. In contrast, Haihane was chuckling again, though this time it was enough that she was almost doubled over, and her body was shaking. "Oh, God, my stomach," the Indigo Sekirei said, shaking her head. "She called you 'Benitsubasa-chan!'"

"What the hell are you laughing about, idiot?" Benitsubasa yelled. "That big-breasted bimbo insulted you, too!"

"It's not like Natsuo cares if you're flat, he doesn't even like girls," Haihane responded between laughs. "No need to get all worked up, you're just proving that you're as bratty as she said you were."

Benitsubasa let out a loud screech and flushed bright red. "I keep telling you Natsuo's not gay, you bitch! Just you watch! I'll prove it to you as soon as we're done with this trash!"

Haihane's response was an even louder burst of laughter. Growling, Benitsubasa turned away from her fellow Sekirei, opting to focus on her chosen opponent. Musubi's stance was strangely familiar to her, reminding her of the strange man that had gotten into a fight with Karasuba the year before. Her gaze then flickered to Akitsu's forehead, and the scowl on her face only deepened. _The scrapped number. Hmph, this might actually be more than a little challenging if they do the smart thing and rush us._

Minato gave Haruka a look, and when Haruka looked back, Minato slightly jerked his head forward, with a determined nod. Understanding Minato's plan right away, Haruka grabbed Kuno's hand, while Akitsu shifted her position ever so slightly and Kazehana's amused smile faded away.

Then, the tension, already swollen to its limit, burst.

Musubi took an explosive step toward Benitsubasa, executing a Hayate with perfect control of her breath. The pink-haired Sekirei managed to block in time, and launched a high-kick counterattack that sent Musubi flying back. Haihane, her laughter subsiding to more manageable levels, took that chance to rush at Tsukiumi, swinging her claws inward to slice Tsukiumi's chest open. Tsukiumi responded by leaping to the side, allowing Haihane to step into the ring of water that Tsukiumi had been summoning. Tsukiumi then snapped her fingers, and the water became a surging spout that knocked Haihane into the sky.

Immediately after that, Minato, Haruka, and Kuno dashed forward, running as fast as they could. Benitsubasa noticed their desperate escape and moved to intercede, but Kazehana and Akitsu, deliberately hanging back behind the two Ashikabi and Kuno, each pointed a finger in Benitsubasa's direction. In the blink of an eye, their powers combined into a brief, frosty gale that pushed Benitsubasa back. Seizing the opportunity, Akitsu then put her hands to the ground, took a breath, and let the ki flow out of her arms and hands. A tall, pure-white wall of ice formed on the entire span of the bridge and stretched at least fifteen feet upward, filling the air with the sharp crackling sound of rapid condensation.

When Benitsubasa recovered and saw the blocked escape route, she shrieked in rage, but before she could do anything about it, she heard Musubi's rapidly approaching steps, and spun on her heel to face number 88 once again. With a fierce "Chesto!", Musubi lashed out with a forward jab from her leading hand, then segued into the three powerful thrusting punches that made up the Shimaki technique, hitting Benitsubasa's face and collarbone. Benitsubasa blocked the jab, but the speed of the second punch broke her guard, leaving her open for that hit and the two that followed it. Musubi then sprang in to strike again, seeing Benitsubasa reel back from the force of the Shimaki. However, it was a feint; Benitsubasa leaned forward as soon as Musubi was within arm's reach, smashed into Musubi's stomach with a wicked punch, then knocked Musubi back again with a punch to the face.

Musubi retreated after that, wheezing from the sudden loss of air. That allowed Benitsubasa a moment to shake the stars out of her eyes from the hits she'd taken. As she ran her tongue over her lips, Benitsubasa tasted the unmistakable copper of blood, as well as a growing soreness spreading across the spots where Musubi had hit her. Gingerly, she touched her face, and winced. _Those spots are going to bruise. She's definitely a power type._

Musubi recovered herself after a few moments, and Benitsubasa allowed herself a wicked smile as Minato's Sekirei sunk into her stance once again. Benitsubasa's punch had hit Musubi right in the left eye, causing the eye itself to shut halfway and start to swell. Despite that, though, Musubi's expression was still ferociously determined, and Benitsubasa liked that. It just meant that she'd break down even worse when Benitsubasa smashed her face into the concrete.

Before Benitsubasa could charge in, though, the sound of shattering ice caused both her and Musubi to look at the ice wall, where a hole large and tall enough for a human to walk through had opened up. What Benitsubasa missed, though, was the bewildered look that crossed Musubi's face, and the way that Musubi whispered "Minato-shishou? Kazehana-san?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Tsukiumi and Haihane were having their own exchange of attacks; Tsukiumi's initial attack did indeed launch Haihane into the air, but the Indigo Sekirei had easily righted herself and landed on the bridge, unharmed aside from the wetness of her clothes. Despite the clear range advantage that Tsukiumi possessed in terms of striking with her water, Haihane's speed and power allowed her to either evade Tsukiumi's attacks or drill through them with a well-timed swipe of her gauntlets. Slowly but surely, Haihane was closing in on Tsukiumi, and they both knew it.

After Haihane slashed through another burst of Tsukiumi's water, she grinned, then leaped forward with a mad cackle, letting her gauntlets stream out behind her. Tsukiumi didn't have time to call another wave, so she ducked to the side and let Haihane slash at the empty air; this time was far closer than the last, though, as some loose strands of blonde hair wafted away on the wind.

For a brief moment, Tsukiumi lost her composure completely. And in that brief moment, Haihane lurched toward Tsukiumi and lashed out with another laugh and a swing of her gauntlets. The hooked claws tore into Tsukiumi's flesh and clothes, ripping away part of her left sleeve and scoring the skin beneath it deeply enough for several red slashes to mark her forearm. Biting back curses, Tsukiumi gripped her injury and glared angrily at Haihane, who landed in a crouch, then slowly rose into a slouch, letting her hands hang. "You can't fight at close range," Haihane said. "What, did you think that you could just splash everyone that tried to kill you? Are you that naïve?"

Tsukiumi took a steadying breath and straightened up. She looked down at the injury she'd gotten, and replayed the scene briefly in her mind before sighing. _True, 'twas careless of me to retreat so quickly, __least of all with no way to defend myself from the attack incoming. If that's the case, then I suppose I'll have to fight her in close-quarters as well as from afar. _She turned the palm of her left hand outward, then pulled the fingers together as if she were about to chop someone. A burst of water swirled from the river below and flowed over to her, wrapping around her left arm up to the elbow and forming into an aqua-blue blade, which gradually became stained with dull red as her blood mixed with it.

Haihane stared blankly at Tsukiumi while the blonde Sekirei gave her new weapon a few experimental swings. Tsukiumi then turned the left side of her body toward Haihane, and charged, yelling out a battle cry. Haihane shook off her surprise and rushed in, sweeping her right gauntlet at Tsukumi's face, but Tsukiumi's sword served her well, allowing her to block the attack by catching the claws of the gauntlet, and swing outward as both a counterattack and a way to break Haihane's guard. With a cry of pain, Haihane stumbled backward, clutching at her wound on instinct. Then, she flinched, and a thin stream of blood spewed from her wounded stomach. Shortly afterward, she flopped over comically; the claws of her gauntlet had cut her injury open wider.

Tsukiumi snorted and swung her blade out again, as if flicking off the blood she'd just drawn. "Fool! Quit your lying about and fight me seriously! Or was that blow just a lucky shot?"

"I really don't like you," Haihane grumbled to herself as she stood up. Once she was on her feet, she patted her injury with the heel of her hand this time. It stung enough to make her flinch at the light touch she placed on it, and would impede her a little bit, but it wasn't as deep as the wound she had carved into Tsukiumi's arm. She'd be fine so long as she made sure to actually pull off one or two of Tsukiumi's limbs before Tsukiumi could get a chance to capitalize on her injuries. "That piece of crap river-water sword isn't going to hold up for long. You've lost already."

As Haihane said this, a sudden, foreign feeling of warmth flooded through Tsukiumi's body, accompanied by an oddly distant sense of overwhelmed bashfulness. The sound of shattering ice came from behind Tsukiumi not long afterward. Despite her confusion about the strange thoughts that had nearly broken her concentration again, Tsukiumi didn't dare chance a look back, keeping her eyes on Haihane and preparing to attack once again as soon as an opening presented itself.

* * *

For a brief moment, Minato had been stunned by how quickly and perfectly Akitsu had made the ice wall now spanning the entire breadth of the bridge. Haruka and Kuno, too, had been gaping right at his side before Akitsu got up from the ground, turned to them, and said, "Kuno-san and Shigi-san should go on alone from here. We must help Musubi and Tsukiumi."

"Akitsu-chan is right," Kazehana added, folding her arms. Her smile was as distant as one of Miya's fake ones, and her eyes were clearly shifting toward the ice wall. "Minato-kun, say your goodbyes from here."

Minato nodded at both Kazehana and Akitsu, then turned to Haruka and Kuno with a rueful smile on his face. "I'm sorry things didn't go quite so easily as we planned, but it was good to meet the both of you." He reached both hands out to them, and Haruka and Kuno each took one, shaking it briefly.

"Thanks, Sahashi," Haruka said. "You're a lifesaver, man. And I promise when all of this blows over, I'm gonna come back and try to get into Shinteidai."

Kuno's eyes were watering slightly, but she was smiling at Minato, her face lit with a shy blush. "Thank you for being so nice to us, Sahashi-san. Thank you for helping us. Thank you for everything."

Minato let go of their hands, and his own smile became tired, almost rueful. "Just stay safe, you two. That's all I ask, OK?"

Haruka nodded and took Kuno's hand in his own. They looked at each other and smiled, then turned toward the other end of the bridge and ran off, sparing only a moment to turn back and wave goodbye as they moved forward. Minato returned the wave with some odd emotion tugging at his chest, and as they rapidly faded into the night, he turned back to the ice wall with a determined frown. "Let's get Tsukiumi-san and Musubi and get out of here. MBI is going to be all over us soon."

"Not just yet, Minato-kun," Kazehana said, walking up to him. "There's something that I promised to give you, and I might as well do it now, before I forget. From now on, and forevermore, my wind is at your back." Her hands snaked out to his face, pulling it level with hers, and she unhesitatingly leaned into a kiss, planting her lips firmly over his. Her body shook as a wave of ki flowed out and a burst of wind encircled them. The petal-like wings of every Sekirei winging appeared not long afterward—eight in total spread from Kazehana's back, suffused with ki like Minato had never felt before.

And then, in Minato's mind, something burst. He suddenly became aware not only of the warmth between himself and Kazehana, but began to hear echoes and whispers of emotions and thoughts that he somehow knew weren't his; love, joy, astonishment, satisfaction. For a moment, he even imagined that he could feel Kazehana herself in his mind, a warm wind, scented with the fragrance of flowers, that wrapped around everything that he was. When Kazehana pulled herself away from him, he looked at her with a blank-eyed stare, and she giggled, rubbing his cheek with one hand. "It looks like you've finally started to wake up, my Ashikabi," she said. "I think things will be very interesting from now on."

Akitsu's expression remained calm, but her hand twitched. Kazehana noticed the movement, and after sparing a quick glance to Minato, decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked over to Akitsu, then turned toward the ice wall, and said, "He cares about you too, Akitsu-chan. I felt it in his heart, and I saw it in the way he taught you and Musubi." She then smiled and winked at Akitsu. "And I'm not adverse to sharing him, either. So long as I get my time with him, that's all that matters to me."

For a moment, Akitsu just kept staring at Kazehana, but eventually, the hint of a smile began to play at her lips. She put a hand up to the ice wall, and with a single thought, part of it shattered into an opening large enough for the three of them to walk through. The loud sound shook Minato out of his stupor, and he rushed to catch up with his two Sekirei, walking through the wall with them.

Musubi and Tsukiumi were still fighting Benitsubasa and Haihane, and while the first pair was staring in his general direction, each with bruises, blood, and dirty clothes, the second pair had completely ignored the shattering ice. Even through the murky reddish-blue of Tsukiumi's water blade, Minato could see her ragged sleeve and the injury she'd sustained, and a stinging pain began to run up and down his left arm in roughly the same spot, gradually spreading to his chest, and face. With a grunt, he pushed those feeling aside, and kept walking forward.

* * *

The moment Minato, Akitsu, and Kazehana came through the ice wall, Musubi felt something stirring in her chest. Just by looking at Kazehana, Musubi could almost swear that she could feel a cold, hard determination on par with Minato's own beneath that smiling exterior—not just metaphorically, but as literally as if she was experiencing the emotion herself. "Minato-shishou? Kazehana-san?" she whispered to herself. "Did you two...?"

As if to answer her question, Kazehana nodded at both Musubi and Tsukiumi with a smile that didn't hide the aura or sheer ferocity that Musubi had first detected. "Musubi-chan, little panty flasher. From now on, we're comrades. Minato...proved to me that he can keep his promises, and I gave him the reward he deserved for it. Please, treat me well, OK?"

Tsukiumi finally turned away from Haihane, who had also stopped attacking. Minato's blonde Sekirei focused on Kazehana for a few moments, then looked over to Minato with all the speed of an advancing glacier. Much like Kazehana, Minato kept his cool, and said, "It's true. Kazehana-san is with us now."

"...we need to have a very long talk when we are finished here," Tsukiumi replied, turning back to Haihane and brandishing her watery sword. Minato frowned as her blood continued to spread from her injury and towards the tip of the blade, and the sensation in his left arm grew stronger and more irritating.

Shortly after that, Benitsubasa rushed Musubi with an angry shout and threw a dizzying array of punches, attempting to pressure and overwhelm her. As the punches came in, Musubi took and released a calm breath, holding her stance, then deflected each and every blow with her right hand or right forearm, taking a slow step forward with each strike blocked. Snarling, Benitsubasa ducked backward, then shifted to the side before charging in again. This time, though, both of her hands were cupped at her side, and when she got into arm's reach, she thrust them both forward, attempting to hit Musubi with a twin-palm strike.

"SHREDDER*!"

At first, Musubi froze. But then, in that moment, she heard a familiar voice, the one that had spoken to her when she had kissed Minato for the first time. She could clearly hear it, and recognize it as a woman's voice. It was eerily similar to her own, but more mature and serious, more motherly. _"Don't be afraid, Musubi-chan. Minato taught you all you need to know to win. Remember your breathing. Remember your movement. Remember your training. Concentrate!"_

The moment Musubi took another breath, everything became crystal clear. Her eyes focused directly on Benitsubasa's attack, and her muscle memory guided her left hand into a familiar overhead arc. "Falling Hand Blade Strike! Oroshi!"

She never noticed the pinkish light surrounding her hand, and the moment it made contact with Benitsubasa's palms, that same light exploded outward in a bright flash. Minato, Akitsu, and Kazehana all covered their eyes, but Tsukiumi and Haihane were too absorbed in their own back-and-forth exchange of attacks to even notice. In fact, as the pink flash faded, Tsukiumi scored another, deeper hit to Haihane's right shoulder, then followed the attack up by turning her water sword into a high-pressure blast that hit Haihane's stomach wound dead-on. The Indigo Sekirei wheezed out the last bit of air in her lungs, staggering unsteadily toward the guardrail of the bridge. Tsukiumi promptly focused herself, and after a moment, a large stream of water circled around her, forming into a fierce dragon-like shape. "Well, Indigo Sekirei. It was...entertaining, for a short while." Tsukiumi's eyes narrowed, becoming as icy as their color. "Now, take a shower. Wash off the stench of your failure."

Without a word from Tsukiumi, her Water Dragon attack surged straight forward and knocked Haihane clear off of the bridge. As Tsukiumi turned to face Musubi and Benitsubasa, a faint splash hit her ears, but she paid it no mind; her impassive, bored scowl had given way to open-mouthed shock. Musubi and Benitsubasa's last clash had left a large crater in the bridge, deep enough to go halfway into it and wide enough to cover at least a lane and a half. The two Sekirei were standing about three or four feet apart, staring at each other intensely. All of Musubi's left sleeve and part of her top had been blown off, exposing one of her bra straps, while both of Benitsubasa's sleeves were gone. Angry red welts were already blooming up and down the length of their arms, and both girls were panting slightly, with sweat pouring down their temples and dirt streaking their foreheads. By now, the first injuries that they'd dealt to each other were showing marks as well; Musubi's eye was swelling slightly, and her lip had been split open just like Benitsubasa's. Even so, both girls wore matching grins, though Musubi's was cheerful where Benitsubasa's was bloodthirsty.

"What was your name again, 88?" Benitsubasa asked. "Musubu?"

"Musubi, Benitsubasa-chan. Musubi," Musubi replied, putting extra emphasis on the third syllable.

Benitsubasa licked the blood off of her lip and wiped the corner of her mouth with a clenched fist. Her excitement and bloodlust overrode the anger she felt about being called "Benitsubasa-chan". "I can understand why Karasuba was so interested in you now." Her brow furrowed as her grin widened. "Though, I wonder why you fight like that man. Your stance and your moves are so similar to some of the things he did when he fought Karasuba...that sliding punch you hit me with, that...Oroshi attack..." She looked over at Minato, who stared back with more than just a little bit of confusion; he'd heard every word she'd said, and was beginning to come to the same realization that she was. "Who taught you how to fight?"

Musubi shifted her feet slightly, seeing that Benitsubasa's legs were tensed for another charge. She took in another breath, welcoming the burning surge of ki spreading throughout her body, and failed to notice the hints of pink light shimmering around her fists and feet. "I've been learning from my Ashikabi, Minato-shishou! His father taught him everything he knows, and he's been teaching me ever since we met!"

Benitsubasa made a thoughtful noise; that was all the information she needed to be sure of the connection between Minato and Karasuba's opponent. Then, she chuckled, gave Minato another sidelong glance, and turned her attention back to Musubi again. "I never knew that a human martial art could be so dangerous when a Sekirei used it. Well, I'll give your Minato credit where it's due, he actually taught you some good stuff!" The heels of Benitsubasa's boots crunched into the pavement, and Musubi's left hand tensed back into a fist. "Too bad it's not enough for you to win. This next move will kill you straight out, and then I can take my time tearing through the rest of you idiots! The moment you let those weaklings get away, you earned your punishment!"

Musubi slowly shook her head, and pulled her left fist and right hand to head level, slowly extending the latter so that the palm faced toward Benitsubasa. "Kuno-san and Shigi-san didn't want to fight, but that doesn't make them weak, Benitsubasa-chan! A Sekirei isn't strong unless they stand by their Ashikabi no matter what happens!"

Benitsubasa snorted and bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment, then began to run forward again. As she drew closer to Musubi, she kissed the back of her fist, then pulled it back, preparing for a huge punch. "Whatever! Shut up and die!"

Musubi's hands became coated in bright pink light as she breathed again, but instead of using a Hayate as she'd planned, she instinctively pulled both of her hands to waist level, clenching her right into a fist as she did. The moment Benitsubasa got into range, Musubi punched out with both of her fists at chest level, holding them parallel to the ground with her right above the left. All of her breath and her ki flowed out of her with an explosive "CHESTO!"

The two attacks clashed perfectly, and for a moment, the only sound in the air was the sound of Musubi and Benitsubasa's gloves touching each other. Then, a loud, earthshaking BOOM rattled everyone present as a pressurized shockwave of air came from between Musubi's fists, blasting Benitsubasa backwards and into Akitsu's ice barrier. The force of her attack and the clash with Benitsubasa knocked Musubi flat on her back, and the ground beneath her simply fell apart. On instinct, she managed to grab the edge of the crater, now a hole, and just barely kept herself from falling into the Araha River. Minato immediately put aside his thoughts about what Benitsubasa had been saying about Karasuba and the man that fought like Musubi, and rushed from where he'd been standing with Akitsu and Kazehana. His breath was wild and uneven as he got down on hands and knees to grab Musubi's hand and pull her up. His unfocused breath made it impossible for him to lift her up, though. It wasn't until Tsukiumi called up a geyser from below to push Musubi higher that Minato was able to pull Musubi to safety.

As he looked at Musubi, Minato's face paled. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was weak, raising her chest and stomach in shallow degrees. Both of her arms were raw and red, turning an ugly shade of purple in certain spots. Whatever was left of her clothes above waist level had been obliterated by the strike, but he focused on nothing but her face. The strange stinging sensation started spreading through his body again, but this time, it was focused in both of his arms, around his eye, and on his lip. But none of that was as important as trying to wake up his first Sekirei, his first student. "Musubi!" he shouted. "Musubi, are you all right? Musubi!"

Musubi cracked open her uninjured eyelid and smiled at Minato. The others slowly came to gather around them, and she said, "Did you see that, everyone? I think I invented a new move. Was it cool?" Her voice was weak, and her breaths were still shallow, but she was clearly awake.

At first, Minato couldn't believe what she'd said, but as the reality that she was alright sank in, he managed to laugh, then began to cry, holding her as closely to him as he could. When he spoke again, his voice was cracking, choked by the tears trailing down his face. "It was amazing."

From where she'd landed, Benitsubasa stirred weakly, trying to get to her feet, but Musubi's punch had been too much for her. She knew she'd last as long as she at least stayed conscious, but any further movement would risk causing a termination. "Musubi...I won't forget this," she muttered to herself. "Just wait..."

Cradling Musubi as if she were about to break in his hands, Minato stood up and looked at his other three Sekirei. His expression was clearly relieved, even through his tears, but it was easy to see that he had been shaken. He turned to Tsukiumi next, and looked at her injured arm, then her slightly paler face. "Tsukiumi-san, are you all right?"

"Much better than Musubi," Tsukiumi replied softly. "Those bruises on her arms are...disconcerting, but considering that she's still conscious, I believe she will make a recovery with enough time." Despite how calmly she spoke, Minato still flinched and looked away from her, his shoulders shaking slightly. Tsukiumi frowned and walked closer to him, as if she wanted to say something, but stopped about a foot or two away from him, and staggered slightly, teetering forward. Before she could fall over, Akitsu came over to her and grabbed her uninjured hand, pulling her back to her feet.

"Blood loss," Akitsu said, shifting herself so that Tsukiumi was leaning on her shoulder. "You need rest, too."

Minato finally managed to look Tsukiumi in the eye again, his eyes drying, but before he could speak, a whirring sound came from overhead as a harsh spotlight shined down on them. Not long afterward, his earpiece crackled again, and Matsu began to speak, the words spilling into his ear at a breakneck pace. _"Mina-tan! I'm sorry, they got my signal and locked me out right after I saw the Disciplinary Squad on the bridge, and my visuals are still down. Is everything all right? What happened? What's that noise in the __background?"_

"Shigi-san and Kuno-san are out of the city," Minato said, watching the MBI chopper touch down with a resigned frown on his face. "Musubi and Tsukiumi-san managed to beat the Disciplinary Squad, but MBI is here and we're in no state to run." His voice dropped to a whisper as a squadron of troops came out of the helicopter, aiming very dangerous guns in their direction. "I...don't know what to do. Musubi's really hurt, Tsukiumi-san's hurt... We helped Shigi-san, but..."

His thought remained unfinished, as a familiar white-haired woman came out of the chopper and with a slight scowl on her face. Instinctively, Minato let out a relieved sigh as Takami Sahashi pulled a cigarette from the pack in her lab coat's breast pocket and lit it up, taking a long drag from it as she surveyed the messy scene in front of her. "Son, I love you very much," she said, letting out a cloud of smoke, "but sometimes I ask myself if you and your sister were placed on this earth just to make me go prematurely gray." The moment that Takami looked at Kazehana, Kazehana glared right back at her with a frown that Minato had never seen on her face. "And you've winged Kazehana as well? I imagine that family dinners are going to be quite fun now."

"_I'm_ not so petty that I can't overlook our history with each other for my darling's sake, though I doubt I could say the same about you," Kazehana said, her voice as scornful as her expression. "I wouldn't have let Minato become my Ashikabi if I didn't have faith that he could be a better match for me than the Game Master."

Both Minato and Tsukiumi gave Kazehana a perplexed stare, though it was Tsukiumi that actually voiced what they were both thinking. "You surely don't mean that you wanted that blustering oaf Minaka to be your Ashikabi! Are you mad?"

"Now's...Now's not the time for this," Minato said, shaking his head and focusing on Takami. He had to put aside everything else right now and get Musubi and Tsukiumi the help they needed. Nothing else mattered, not even what Benitsubasa said about the man that fought Karasuba once before. "Mom, Tsukiumi-san and Musubi are both hurt. If you came here for something, let's get it over with so I can figure out how to help them."

Takami shook her head and smiled dryly. "That's why I'm here. Load up with us, and we can lift you to a private treatment facility in Teitou Tower. Believe it or not, that idiot Minaka was actually impressed enough by this little stunt to not 'punish' you." She spared a glance over to a barely-conscious Benitsubasa, and sighed. Turning to a nearby soldier, who was carrying a deflated plastic raft under one arm, she said, "Load up Benitsubasa and see what you can do about finding Haihane in the river. She should still be active enough to live through whatever happened to her if you find her quickly." The soldier saluted and grabbed a few of the others to do just that, and Takami turned her attention back to her son and his Sekirei. "Let's go, Minato. You said it yourself, we don't have time for games."

Without hesitation, Minato nodded and walked toward the chopper, refusing to let anyone else carry Musubi. Tsukiumi semi-gently got off of Akitsu's shoulder and strode over to him with a proud frown, falling into step just behind him; Akitsu followed her, and Kazehana followed Akitsu, not even stopping to give Takami another glare. Once they'd all gotten in the back seats, Takami went back to the side seat, and the pilot eased the control yoke upward, sending them up into the night sky and off to the center of Shintou Teitou.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Apologies for this one being late, but it wound up being a lot longer than I was expecting it to be, and the opening went through a few revisions before I got the flow right. In particular, writing the action scenes really got my blood pumping again for this story; it's a scene I've been looking forward to covering for a while, mostly because I got to show off some of Musubi's growth for real instead of just showing her pantomiming Minato's moves._

_ However, attentive readers will notice that there is still one thing that vaguely relates my version of the bridge scene to the original. If you catch it, try to be careful about how you voice your theories. It wouldn't do to have my plans ruined. ;P  
_

_Review Response:_

_As usual, my first thanks to all of you who have been reading and keeping up quietly._

_Emeraldfireblade: Some day, indeed. Ideally speaking, I'd like current events in the manga to resolve a little further before I even think about it; as it is now, the sequel would probably wind up corresponding to the events of Sekirei: Pure Engagement more so than anything else, and I'd like more material to work with before I go forward._

_valdiusmacto: I know I responded to you directly, but I'm doing it here as well so that it's public record. I very much appreciate you taking the time out to identify the flaws you found in the narrative, and I feel that the way you gave your feedback was honest but still encouraging; ideally speaking, every fanfiction on this site should have at least one review like this. __This chapter sort of laid the groundwork for Minato to realize that he's kind of been a moron; the next step, as you'll see in the next chapter, is for him to actually confront that realization. I also gave a few of your tips on pacing a go here. Hopefully it managed to stay true to the spirit of my writing while actually getting to the salient points much quicker, heh._

_Well, this is it. Next chapter will be the last one. It will probably be slightly longer, and after that, the story will be done. I'll try to be ready for two weeks from this Friday, but real life is going to be picking up some around that time, so I may not have as much time as I'd like to work out the last bits of this story.  
_

_Till that time, take care. Enjoy the chapter._

_~ZS_


	15. Roosting

_**Unknown Location**_

_**20XX**_

_**Sunday, Noon**_

_The only word Yume had for the scene she was witnessing was "slaughter". _

_A slaughter the likes of which she had never seen, and never wanted to see again._

_The bodies of countless soldiers were stacked in haphazard piles all over the barren ground. Blood soaked into the soil, oozing outward in large, rust-red puddles. Each and every corpse was cut or slashed wide open, and the faces of the soldiers were frozen in eternal terror. And right there, in front of the biggest pile of bodies, was Karasuba, completely unstained by gore or blood—save for her sword, which she flicked clean as Yume walked forward. "Hey, Yu-chan," Karasuba said, waving her free hand lightly. Her mouth was pulled into a venomous smile, showing canines. "Bit late, aren't you? I got bored waiting for you to come back."_

_Yume stared in Karasuba's direction. Not at Karasuba, but through Karasuba, as if the Black Sekirei wasn't standing next to a pile of dead soldiers with an upbeat little smile on her face. Instinctively, Yume drew the small body she held in her hands closer to her body, and a tear slid down her face. "...Why?"_

"_Humans aren't interesting, is why," Karasuba said, sheathing her sword and folding her arms. Her smile widened just a little bit, but it never stopped being mocking. "I know how you feel about them, but come on, Yu-chan! You can't seriously think that a bunch of weaklings like them would be worthy of any of us." Her eyes narrowed, and her expression twisted into a hateful frown. "Especially not after what Minaka and MBI did to us. How they molded and 'adjusted' us to be more 'acceptable' to humans." She looked at the body that Yume was holding in her arms, and sighed, sparing a moment to look down at something near her feet. "Why'd you bring 88 with you? 87's already worthless enough as it is." _

_Yume looked down to where Karasuba had glanced down, and saw a dirt-speckled girl that looked vaguely similar to Musubi facially, but with slightly longer hair._

"_From what I see, Kaho-chan is fine," Yume whispered. "Musubi-chan will be, as well."_

_Karasuba's frown softened. "Yume, you shouldn't lie to yourself. 88's not breathing. She's done for."_

_Yume looked up, and met Karasuba's eyes for the first time during their entire conversation. Her eyes were narrowed, but her mouth was set in a determined frown, refusing to look away from Karasuba. "Not if I give her my core."_

_Karasuba stepped forward, drawing her sword so quickly that even Yume might have missed it, and pointed its tip at Musubi's lifeless body. The Black Sekirei's eyes were wide open and drilling holes into Yume's forehead. Behind Karasuba, Kaho gasped weakly, and her eyes went wide. "And if you think I'm going to let you do that, you have officially lost your fucking mind."_

"_We came here to save both Kaho-chan and Musubi-chan," Yume replied, matching Karasuba's anger with determination. "My life is worth sacrificing if it means that I can save Musubi-chan."_

"_Because you 'love' her, right!?" Karasuba shouted. "Don't be a fucking idiot, Yume! Quit playing at being mommy to her and use your goddamn brain! If you give her your core, you're dead! Does that kid really mean so much to you that you'd kill yourself for her?"_

_Yume's response was firm and unhesitating. "Yes. Because she can carry on my dream. Because she's got the heart to change things for us." She looked at all of the dead bodies again, though it made her stomach turn. "I don't know what our purpose is, any more than a human knows what theirs is. But I do know that we weren't born to kill and dominate those that are weaker than us. And if I can't find that answer, maybe someone else carrying my spirit can find it instead." _

_Yume's body began to glow softly with pink light, and though Karasuba moved to stab Musubi, she forcibly stopped herself from going through with it. If she did, there was a good chance that she would possibly injure or kill Yume in the process, especially since Yume's core was already starting to transfer into Musubi. With a snarl, Karasuba kept staring at Yume, though her anger was clearly warring with a deep, frustrated pain. Unperturbed by the conflict on Karasuba's face, Yume kept speaking. "I know you don't believe in my dream, but Musubi-chan does, and that's good enough for me." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Karasuba. I know you wanted to settle things, but...I have to do this." _

_Slowly, Yume knelt down, cradling Musubi even closer to her body. The light grew in intensity, and her heartbeat began to slow down, just as Musubi's started to speed up. She felt a great weariness overtake her, but she managed to keep smiling, and even chuckled to herself as she became sleepier and sleepier. "Playing mommy...hmm, it would have been nice to have a daughter of my own."_

_Musubi's eyes shot open not long after Yume spoke. The young girl looked up at Yume with awe, and returned Yume's bright smile. "Yume-sama! You...saved me, Yume-sama."_

_"And Kaho-chan, too," Yume said, allowing her eyelids to droop halfway down. "But, Musubi, I...I have to go soon. And where I'm going, you won't be able to see me again. So I want you to make me a promise."_

"_Anything, Yume-sama!" Musubi replied, her voice bright and eager. "Just tell me what it is!"_

_Yume leaned down a little more and kissed Musubi on the forehead. "Remember my dream, and do your best to make sure it becomes real. That's all I ask."_

_Though it took a supreme effort for her weakened body, Musubi nodded. "I will, Yume-sama!"_

_With the last of her strength, Yume then looked up at Karasuba, still keeping a smile on her face. For a moment, the Black Sekirei struggled to speak, gritting her teeth. However, when at last Karasuba did say something, it came out as a raspy whisper, bitter, sad, and enraged. "Goodbye, Yume." _

_Yume's smile widened, but just the smallest hint of sadness touched it. Then, her eyes closed, and her head hung down, jerking slightly as if it had been on a cut string. Musubi continued to stare up into Yume's peaceful face before yawning and falling asleep. Karasuba stood over the two of them for several moments, then turned away and looked up into the cloudless blue sky. Not long after that, a few wet spots stained the ground near her feet. Then, she screamed, louder and longer than she ever had reason to in her life, and longer and louder than she would ever scream again. Instinctively, Kaho crawled over to Musubi and leaned against Yume's body, while Karasuba continued to scream and cry, an endless rage and sadness eating through the Black Sekirei's heart._

"_YUME!"_

* * *

_**~Petal 15: Roosting~**_

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Teitou Tower**

**2020**

**Tuesday, 2 PM**

Musubi woke up from her dream with a sharp gasp, clutching at her heart. She could feel it drumming a wild beat against her chest, and it took several deep breaths before her pulse even started to slow down. Once she got it under control, Musubi looked around, and gasped at her surroundings. She was lying down in a pristine white room. Light streamed in from the windows nearby, flooding the entire room, and a medical curtain split it into two separate halves; by the look of it, she was on the side farther from the door. The look, smell, and temperature were a spot-on reminder of the adjustment facilities, which meant she was at a place affiliated with MBI.

Most importantly, though, she wasn't alone in the room. Minato was sitting in a chair across from her bed, fast asleep. Akitsu and Kazehana were sitting in chairs on either side of him, grabbing one arm each even as they slept. The sight gave Musubi a sudden urge to go and hug him herself, but she abstained, mostly because her legs felt terribly sore. "So we were taken by MBI somewhere," Musubi said. "But where?" She rubbed her forehead, and winced. Even with advanced healing, her arms hurt something fierce, probably thanks to Benitsubasa's last attack. She was still awestruck by the odd clarity of the dream she'd had, and even more surprised that she had experienced the entire thing from Yume's perspective with such certainty that it didn't feel like a dream. More like a memory...

Musubi gingerly scratched her head and frowned, trying to piece together all that she could remember on the bridge. Her memory seemed to blank out right after Minato and Tsukiumi saved her from falling, but she also realized that the moment before striking Benitsubasa's last punch was oddly fuzzy as well. While she puzzled that out, a groan came from the other side of the curtain, and a hand reached out, pulling it back. Musubi looked over to her right and saw Tsukiumi sitting up in another hospital bed, with her left arm wrapped in bandages and slight bags underneath her eyes. "So 'twas you I heard speaking just now," Tsukiumi grumbled, rubbing at her right eye with her right hand. "How wonderful to be awoken from such sweet dreaming by such an obnoxious voice."

"Good morning, Tsukiumi-san," Musubi responded, smiling. "Do you know where we are?"

Tsukiumi grunted, but spared a glance over to Minato and sighed. "Teitou Tower. Takami-san brought us here from the bridge." She then looked at Musubi with a small frown. "Doctor's orders say that you mustn't exert yourself over the next week. All of your muscles have been badly damaged by that fight with the Crimson Sekirei. They're mending, but any activity save for regular movement will likely cause them to tear open and keep you in convalescence even longer."

Musubi blinked. "The Crimson...oh, Benitsubasa-chan! What happened to her and Haihane-san?"

"Going by what Takami-san was saying, they were both brought in after us," Tsukiumi said. "Neither you nor I managed to terminate either of them, though it was a near thing. Pray they do not seek us out ere we recover. I imagine they are less than pleased about being defeated, and I may have said some...unkind things to the Indigo Sekirei when I blasted her off of the bridge."

"Well, fighting with Benitsubasa-chan was pretty fun," Musubi said. "I wouldn't mind doing it again, but it's like you said, she's probably still mad about it." She looked in Minato's direction again, and smiled a little bit at the sight of Akitsu and Kazehana using him as a pillow. She felt a momentary twinge in her chest, but it faded away in fairly short order. "I wasn't expecting Kazehana-san to join us, though. She seems really nice."

Musubi was expecting Tsukiumi to growl in annoyance, but instead the blonde Sekirei sighed. "I can admit that she was a boon whilst we were trying to fight. Had Kazehana not been there, Akitsu alone would have been hard-pressed to get Minato, Kuno, and Shigi to safety." She shifted in her bed, frowning in clear discomfort. "I still wish to speak with Minato about where we go from here, though. There are six of us with him now, and matters were already difficult with five."

Not long after she said that, Akitsu's eyes opened up, and she let go of Minato's arm. When she did, Minato stirred in his chair, then sniffed and yawned, slowly opening his eyes. After rubbing his face once or twice with his free hand, he focused on the other side of the room, and smiled broadly. "Musubi, Tsukiumi, you're up. How are you feeling?"

"The bindings make my arm feel a bit stiff, but fine otherwise," Tsukiumi said.

"I kind of feel like I was doing drills for the Oroshi and the Naruto at the same time for a whole day," Musubi said. "But I think I'll be OK."

Minato's smile only widened, but even Musubi could see a hint of guilt work its way into his expression. "Good. That's great."

Awkward silence followed after that for a few moments. Eventually, Minato dropped his smile and let out a quiet breath. "We all need to talk," he whispered.

Tsukiumi nodded, and for the first time all day, her mouth curled into an actual frown. Anger prickled at the back of Minato's brain, but the thoughts were accompanying it were definitely not his. Words like _betraying my trust after you talked me into giving my life to you _and _I shall not permit that drunken wench to steal you from me _floated into his mind. "Indeed, we do," she said, folding her arms.

Minato held up his free hand in an attempt to push out the emotions filtering into his mind and to make sure that Tsukiumi didn't cut him off. "Before we go into that, I need to say something else." He bit his lip, and seemed to shrink in on himself. "I don't regret helping Kuno-san and Shigi-san, but I didn't consider what that actually meant until yesterday. I didn't consider that I would be risking all of your lives to play hero until I saw both you and Musubi get hurt." He remembered how Musubi had been so still in his arms, and how Tsukiumi's face was so pale as she lay in the hospital bed hours before. "I'm sorry. I won't ever take a risk like that again without seriously consulting all of you and exploring all of my options."

Her Ashikabi's expression was just haunted enough to tell Tsukiumi that he hadn't had very pleasant dreams about the subject recently. Some of the bitterness she felt in regards to the entire matter faded; he may not have been physically hurt, but the emotional pain hew was feeling more than compensated for that. Before she could speak, though, Musubi interjected. "Minato-sama, you don't need to be so hard on yourself. You're not a bad person because you made one mistake. You were trying to do the right thing."

"That didn't make what I asked you all to do any less dangerous," Minato said. His shoulders sagged. "I know you all agreed to help me, but it's my responsibility to look out for you all as much as you look out for me. If I was doing my job properly, I never would have asked it of you all in the first place."

"Enow!" Tsukumi shouted. Minato jumped slightly, and Kazehana stirred into drowsy awakening by his sudden motion, rubbing at one eye. Without pause, Tsukiumi continued, speaking softly. "It is done, Minato. Yes, we were hurt. Yes, you made a dangerous and irresponsible decision. But there is no point in belaboring the point, as it were. It has passed. It is more important that you focus on what must be done going forth."

"Flasher-chan is right," Kazehana said, stifling a yawn and blinking in lethargic confusion. "I haven't the slightest idea what she's talking about, but if she's going to raise her voice to Darling like that, she most certainly has to be right." She gave Tsukiumi a frosted-over, narrowed-eyed smile that looked like it was about to shatter.

"If you think you can intimidate me, you've another thing coming, you slob," Tsukiumi retorted. The moment she said so, though, Kazehana's eyes narrowed even more, and Minato winced as a new stream of anger washed into his brain, accompanied by words like _arrogant drunken wench _and _man-stealing panty-flashing brat_. "Wounded or not, I'll not abide your insolence—"

Minato stood up, pressing a hand to the side of his head, and shouted, "Tsukiumi! Kazehana! Cut it out!" The force in his voice, and the fact that he called their names without honorifics, made them both stop instantly and look at him with blank stares. When they did this, the angry thoughts pressing in on Minato's mind stopped as well. His voice lowered slightly in volume as he shifted his stance to address all of them. "Now, listen up. I know that the fact that I'm one Ashikabi between all of you makes things complicated, but what's going on in this city is too crazy for all of you to be fighting over me." He took a deep breath. "You all may not like each other very much, and I don't expect that to change just because I said so. But from here on out, we work together to get through this, or we all lose. And I absolutely refuse to lose any of you. I don't have a 'favorite' between any of you. You are all important to me. You are like...all of you are like a second family to me, and I'm not going to lose you, damn it!"

Minato's Sekirei simply watched as he sank back into his chair and ran his hands through his hair. No one spoke after that, choosing instead to digest what he'd said with various degrees of thoughtfulness crossing their features. It was this silent scene that Takami walked in on not too long afterward. Minato looked up toward her as she came in, smiling in tired relief. Musubi blinked, and then smiled as well. "Oh, Takami-san! Hello!"

"Hello, Musubi," Takami replied, returning the smile briefly before focusing on Minato. "Son."

"Are you sure this is all right, Mom?" Minato replied. "I really don't want you to get into any more—"

Takami put up a hand, and Minato stopped protesting. "It's fine, Minato. That fight with Benitsubasa could have gone a lot worse for her, even with our technology, and I want to be sure that the treatments stick before I clear Musubi for release. She'll be able to go home with you today, but nothing strenuous for at least a week or she'll be even worse off."

Musubi looked completely dispirited by that remark, and looked down helplessly at her bare hands. Takami gave her a brief look, then continued speaking to Minato. "This might be a good thing, anyway. The next stage is going to start soon, and now that you can't go to school, you need to decide on how you're going forward from here."

Minato was about to ask his mother a question, but the moment she said "can't go to school", he immediately let it drop and stared at her. "What did you just say?"

Takami sighed. "Minaka's putting the city on internal lock-down now that the third stage of the plan is almost ready to start. Schools have been shut down and curfews are going to be enforced outside of sanctioned Sekirei Plan events. I don't know exactly why he didn't do it when the second stage started, but I think he wanted to attempt to ease people into the idea of the city being completely shut down before he actually did it for real."

She watched Minato's teeth grind against each other as a nasty expression worked across her son's face, but before she could speak, Minato let out an angry shout, stood up, and walked over to the nearby window, punching the wall. The sudden action made everyone flinch away from him, and after a few moments of heavy breathing, he took a single breath and let his hand slide down from the wall. He did not turn around to face anyone, staring out the window at the city bathed in daylight below them. "Damn it," he shouted. "Damn Minaka, damn Sekirei Plan, damn it all! I didn't ask for this shit! I just...I came here to do one damn thing, and now I can't do it!"

It was then that all of the Sekirei in the room except for Akitsu felt his wordless rage seeping into their heads, and a pain clutching at their chests. Immediately, Kazehana stood up and hugged Minato from behind, squeezing slightly harder than necessary to get his attention. When he felt the pressure, he flinched, then froze, realizing that Kazehana's hands were shaking slightly. "Darling," she said, "I know you're mad at the Game Master, but right now just being angry isn't going to make things better. I don't think it's fair to you, either, but for the moment you need to concentrate your efforts on getting through this."

For a moment, Minato seemed ready to squirm out of her grasp, but after a while, he stopped struggling and let out a soft, hissing breath. As his shoulders slumped, Akitsu came over to him and hugged him as well. Eventually, Tsukiumi and Musubi kicked aside their sheets and walked (or marched, in Tsukiumi's case) over to the group. Tsukiumi squeezed her arms between Akitsu and Kazehana, wrapping them around Minato's waist, while Musubi simply spread her arms around the others. Surrounded by all of them, Minato could feel the touches of fear in their hearts echoing in his head, and realized what exactly his anger was doing to them.

"Why do I feel this?" Minato said after a moment. "...this weird sensation of fear?"

"When you winged me last night, you finally opened up your bond with us," Kazehana said. "It would have eventually developed on its own, all the way, but my strength brought it to full bloom. Now you can feel our hearts just like we can feel yours. Our pain is your pain, our happiness is your happiness, and your joy is our joy."

Minato thought back to how his own body had seemed to ache in sympathy with Tsukiumi's injury last night, and nodded slowly, taking a few small breaths to lower his heart rate. The pain in his Sekirei's chests gradually stopped as his anger faded, tempered by the calm that he was forcing onto himself. "Guess I'll just have to learn how to keep my temper in check better." He managed a dry chuckle. "Now, could you guys ease up a bit? I think I feel my ribs creaking."

With great reluctance, all of Minato's Sekirei let him go, and Minato nodded at them with a warm smile. They felt his relief, and smiled back at him. He then turned back to Takami, and said, "Mom, I have a question. On the bridge, Benitsubasa-san said that she'd seen Musubi's fighting style somewhere before." Takami's back went stiffer than a rock, and while Minato noticed this, he didn't call attention to it, only taking it as confirmation of his suspicion. "More specifically, Benitsubasa-san said that 'a man' fought Karasuba-san using the same moves that Musubi did." He took a slight breath, then asked, "Dad challenged Karasuba-san to a fight, didn't he?"

Takami responded to that question by reaching into her coat and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She flicked the bottom of the pack, and a cigarette popped up. She pulled it out of the box, put it into her mouth, and leaned against the wall near the door. Minato could see her entire body quiver for a moment before she forced it to relax. Then, after several moments of silence, she whispered, "Not exactly, but they did wind up fighting."

Except for Musubi, all of the Sekirei flinched, and gave Minato a wary gaze, unsure of his reaction. Musubi, completely missing the point, just blinked a few times before looking in Minato's direction too.

"When did this happen? Where is he now?" Minato asked. His voice was calm, strangely so, but authentically as well.

"I wasn't aware of any of this happening, because I was out of town just beforehand," Takami said. "I didn't find out until Minaka deigned to fill me in." Her expression soured again. "It happened last year. My understanding is that your father went straight to Teitou Tower and pretty much forced his way in to see Minaka, after he made sure you got home alright." She shifted the unlit cigarette around in her mouth, and folded her arms, trying not to let her hands clench and dig her nails into her arms. "Karasuba fought and beat him, and Minaka locked him up shortly after that. Minaka lets me speak to him on occasion, but I don't know where he's being held or what they're doing to him."

Minato just nodded, working his jaw slightly as he digested that information. "And you didn't tell me because you didn't want me to freak out and do something stupid to try and save him, right?"

Takami sighed. "That's part of it. The other problem is that as long as you or your sister didn't know about it, your father would be fine." She lowered her head, but Minato could see her trembling. "I don't know what Minaka will do if he finds out that I told you, but there's no more point in lying to you since you figured at least part of it out."

"I won't tell Yukari," Minato said. "Minaka won't be finding out from me that I know what he did to Dad. And I'm not going to do anything stupid by trying to free him." His expression remained clear and calm. The anger burning in his heart, just under the surface of his completely calm facade, was completely contained and focused. "Trust me on that."

Takami looked up at Minato, and the expression on her face was as inscrutable as his. She studied him for a moment longer, and finally allowed a smile to cross her face. _He's grown up into a real man. _Aloud, she said, "I will. As long as you make sure you take care of yourself and your Sekirei better. I can't keep pulling strings like this for you."

Minato couldn't think of a decent response to that, so he just nodded. Takami's smile faded, and she said, "I'll do my final examination of Musubi now, and then you all can go back to Izumo and get some rest. Lord knows you all could use it now."

* * *

**Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn**

**3:30 PM**

Most of the quiet journey back to Izumo Inn was full of unpleasant reminders of the oncoming changes in the city. MBI soldiers no longer allowed Minato nor his Sekirei on the train, citing "security risks" as the primary reason. In fact, MBI's presence seemed even more escalated than it had been since the start of the second stage. There was a trooper on every corner of every street, and every one of them carried some kind of armament. They all regarded Minato and his Sekirei warily as they passed by, causing unease to churn in his heart.

At some point, Minato and his group passed by Shinteidai, and saw that it was completely shut down. Minato just stared blankly at the closed gates for a few moments, remembering how simple everything had seemed when he had first walked out of the campus. It was Tsukiumi that pulled him away, with a gentle touch and a murmuring of words in Minato's ears that the others didn't catch. Minato's response was simply to nod at her and reply in an equally quiet foot.

The moment Minato and the others set foot inside of the Inn and started taking off their shoes, Tsukiumi hung back, taking a deep breath, and cleared her throat. "Minato, I would have words with you in private," she said.

Minato put his shoes into the shelf near the door, then turned to Tsukiumi and nodded. "Sure. Meet me in the garden."

Kazehana and Akitsu shared a look, then gave Tsukiumi a sidelong glance. Tsukiumi noticed this, and scowled back at them in response.

* * *

As promised, Minato was sitting out in his usual spot in the backyard when Tsukiumi came out to the porch a few minutes afterward. His eyes were closed and he was breathing very quietly, but as soon as Tsukiumi closed the door, he stood up and walked over to her, stepping up onto the porch. Tsukiumi looked up into his face with a blush, and cleared her throat much like she had before. _'Tis now or never, Tsukiumi. Speak boldly._

"Minato," she said, "how do you feel about me?"

Immediately, Minato's face went red. "Well. Um..." He coughed once or twice, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes darted from side to side as a million words came and left his mind. Eventually, though, he finally managed to say, "You're a friend, someone I can trust. And I really do like you. Maybe not the way that Musubi likes me, but I definitely like you."

Tsukiumi seemed lost for words at that, but eventually nodded. "And is this how you feel about the others as well?"

"Except for Kuu-chan, yes," Minato said. Tsukiumi blinked, her mouth twisting into a slightly puzzled frown, and Minato added, "Kuu-chan's like another little sister to me, just not as...overbearing as Yukari was. And like I said back at the hospital, I don't have a 'favorite' between all of you."

Tsukiumi folded her arms, but there was a lack of severity in her stance that let Minato know that she was seriously listening to his answer. "Then I shall ask this. Why do you constantly disregard me? Nothing I say is to your liking, and you have no care for my opinion."

Minato put a hand to his mouth and sighed. When he spoke again, he was clearly upset, but something in Tsukiumi's heart told her that it wasn't with her. "How do I put this... Tsukiumi-san, it's not that I don't care about your opinion. I just don't like it when you decide to pick fights or say things that could cause trouble with the others." He scratched at his neck, then turned away from her, looking up into the sky. "Akitsu-san hasn't really gotten used to being around people. I don't know what to say about Kazehana-san yet, Matsu-san is mature only when she wants to be, and both Musubi and Kuu-chan are still kind of immature."

Tsukiumi's expression softened from an angry frown into a puzzled one, and Minato looked directly at Tsukiumi again. "I'm hard on you because I know you can do better," he said. "I know that even if you're really hot-tempered, you're not a cruel person. So when I see you lash out at people, it frustrates me because I feel like you're not choosing to be as mature as I know you can be. That's really it." He cleared his throat. "Do you get where I'm coming from?"

After a moment, Tsukiumi nodded, her eyes oddly watery. Minato wondered if perhaps he'd overestimated just how willful she actually was, and reminded himself that while Tsukiumi was very much like Yukari, Yukari had her soft side—and her limits—too. However, before long, Tsukiumi seemed to realize that her confident facade had crumbled, and quickly turned away from Minato, hiding her raw emotions from his sight. "Very well then! If your intentions are as such, then I will accept your counsel from here on out." Knowing he would not see it, her lips pressed together as she fought to say the next words. "I...apologize...for behaving in a manner so unseemly that you would be ashamed of it." He heard her take a short breath before she turned to him, folding her arms tightly. Her brow was furrowed, and any wetness in her eyes was gone, but her voice was still soft. "I am most displeased that you did not say this to me earlier. I do not like being left with false impressions about matters like these. Least of all do I enjoy feeling doubt in whether or not I made a correct decision. I chose you as my Ashikabi because I trusted you. Pray do not make me question whether or not that was a sound choice."

She spoke sternly, but Minato could see that Tsukiumi was squirming as she spoke her last sentence; clearly she felt distasteful even as she said it. So, he smiled and squeezed her shoulder gently, rubbing it a little after he stopped. "I'll remember that. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

The brief contact with him made Tsukiumi's skin flush again, but she soon regained control of herself with a quiet huff, and waited for him to raise his hand from her shoulder before she strode inside. Minato smiled in her direction, but then began to think about what she'd said, how she said she'd felt about how he spoke to her. Then, he rubbed his head, scratching his scalp, and sighed.

"Sometimes I really am a moron," he said to himself.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**5 PM**

Two hours after Minato and the others came back, Uzume walked into Izumo Inn. Her mind was already caught in a torrent of swirling emotions that she was trying very desperately to keep off of her face. When she'd woken up that morning and gone down for breakfast, she'd noticed that only Matsu and Kusano joined her, Miya, and Kagari for breakfast. As she'd been out and about that day, hunting for Kuno and Kazehana, she heard whisperings from other Sekirei and Ashikabi that she'd come across about "the new Ashikabi of the North", and how he had helped a Sekirei and an Ashikabi escape from the city. A quick check via her phone's internet on a few underground Sekirei forums confirmed the rumors, and revealed to Uzume that Kuno had escaped the city, and that Kazehana was probably allied with—or had been winged by—Minato, the very same "Ashikabi of the North" she'd heard so much about.

Upon finding out, she'd wandered the city in a kind of daze, only getting the presence of mind to thin of going back to Izumo after several hours of aimless wandering around. Thanks to Minato, she basically couldn't do anything about either of the two 'targets' she'd been assigned. She would have had enough difficulty defeating Kazehana before Kazehana had been winged (meaning that trying to beat Kazehana now was pretty much completely futile), and Kuno was too far gone as well. On the one hand, Uzume was more than happy that she hadn't been forced to hurt Kuno, and felt the same way to a lesser extent about Kazehana. On the other hand, Chiho's safety was going to be in more danger now than ever before, especially since Uzume's "employer" would keep pushing her to take Kazehana out of the game no matter what the cost was.

_There was no way I'd actually break Izumo Inn's most sacred rule just to satisfy that sneering, hateful son of a bitch_—at least, that was what Uzume had said to herself before Kuno's escape, to comfort herself and keep her faith strong. But upon hearing about Kuno's escape and Kazehana's winging, the realization that Chiho's safety was more important than playing fair crashed down on Uzume's head, crushing her under its weight. Since then, she'd felt her resolve to stay "honest" slowly slip away as the day had worn on. Now, she didn't know whether she wanted to march up to Kazehana and put a shawl through the Number 03's head in front of everyone else in the inn, or launch a sneak attack during bath time and then run off into the night.

She moaned and clutched her head. Just what the hell was she supposed to do now?

Her cellphone rang suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. Without looking at the caller ID, she flipped it open and turned back towards the front door. "Kakizaki, what do you want?"

"_You're slacking, Number 10," _came the reply. _"You haven't yet eliminated either of the two remaining targets you were assigned."_

"95 is out of the city now, and 03 was winged by the Ashikabi of the North. Don't you pay attention to the rumor sites?" Uzume replied, whispering as fiercely as she could. "You tell me how I'm supposed to get near either of them now without getting terminated!"

Kakizaki ignored the heat in Uzume's reply, and kept talking. _"95 is out of your reach, yes, but not 03. Spare me your excuses and find a way to make it work. Don't forget that Miss Hidaka's life is depending on your performance."_

Uzume hissed and nearly punched a nearby wall, but managed to restrain her temper just enough to stop herself. However, the rest of the words that came out of her mouth were nowhere near as restrained. "Didn't I already tell you that I know that already? Get off my ass about it! I'll figure it out, all right?" All of the anger drained out of her voice as she realized what she was doing. "Just...just stick to our deal. You do that and I'll get rid of 03 and whoever else you send me after."

"_Mr. Higa expects results soon, Number 10,"_ Kakizaki said. _"Don't disappoint."_

The line clicked twice, and Uzume hung up her phone, staring angrily at the ground. After a while, she looked over to the staircase, and went straight up, taking them two at a time with hard footfalls. She immediately went to her room, opened up the closet, and began to take out a giant collection of outfits—the maid clothes she'd loaned to Musubi and Akitsu, the wagtail and mouse suits that she'd given to Kusano, everything that she'd come across since meeting Chiho. With deliberate calm and patience, she folded and straightened each one before putting them down on the ground. Memories of each visit to the hospital flickered past her mind's eye as she did so, but she ignored them, trying to still the trembling in her hands in order to keep folding them properly.

Eventually, the memories began to give way to more recent ones—meeting Miya for the first time and finding a place to stay at Izumo Inn, meeting Kagari for the first time, seeing Kusano smile at her after putting on the wagtail outfit, seeing Minato practice with an eager Musubi under the shining sun...

She paused, wiped the corner of her eyes with the back of one hand, and kept folding.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**6 PM**

After an hour of folding clothes, Uzume stood at last. She looked down at the neat piles of clothing that she'd made on the ground in front of her, and allowed herself one last, tired smile before she got up and left her room. After taking the steps much more quietly than she had going up, she went to the drawers near the door, pulled out her walking sneakers, and slipped them on. Right as she put a hand on the doorknob, Minato's voice came through the air.

"Hey, Uzume-san, where are you headed off to?"

Uzume twitched, and turned to face the "Ashikabi of the North" with a fake, joking grin. He was standing at the mouth of the hallway that led further into the inn, wearing his gi. Even from the distance between them, Uzume could smell the sunshine and the rest of the outdoors on his clothing. A week ago, that would have made her smile, but now, it just made her heart break. "Well, some things came up. I'll be going for a little while, but I'll be back as soon as I can, OK?"

Minato nodded, but Uzume noted that there was a wary glint in his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Do you want me to tell Asama-san?"

Uzume shifted from foot to foot as subtly as she could manage under Minato's calculating gaze. "Please do. I'm...kind of in a rush, so I can't do it myself. Sorry."

"It's all right," Minato said. "If it wasn't important, you wouldn't be leaving so quickly." His expression was terribly difficult for Uzume to read. His mouth was drawn into a flat, thin line, but he didn't seem angry or agitated, just calm, observing her with his arms folded and his stance casual, open. "I won't hold you up any longer. Go on ahead and go, I'll tell Asama-san for you."

Uzume managed to eventually say "Thanks" without tripping over her knotted tongue. If Minato sensed her hesitation, he didn't say anything, and simply watched her turn away from him and open the front door. Before she walked out, though, he said, "Uzume."

Uzume kept her eyes forward, praying that he didn't see her hand tremble. "Yeah, Sahashi-chan?"

"Be careful out there. My mother told me that the next stage would be starting soon, and MBI's been way more serious about curfews and such since that thing that went on up north. Whatever your business is, we're still expecting you back here at Izumo in one piece when it's done, OK? It won't be the same without you."

Uzume didn't know how she managed to swallow the huge knot in her throat without crying. She looked back over her shoulder at Minato, and managed a smile, but she could tell that it was halfhearted at best. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just do me one favor, OK? Go up into my room and give your girls those outfits I folded up on the floor. I want them to have them while I'm gone. I'll get them back when I come back."

Then, she left, and closed the door behind her. The moment she did, she called her shawls out, wrapping them around her body and changing into the outfit of the Veiled Sekirei. She looked back at Izumo Inn one last time, then leaped onto the gate surrounding Izumo Inn, then onto the next roof from there.

Minato did not hear her, nor see her, but he knew that she would not be coming back any time soon, if ever. He watched the door for a few moments more, then turned away. Wordlessly, he climbed the stairs to Matsu's room and knocked on the wall, then pushed it open when she said, "Come in."

Matsu turned to her Ashikabi as soon as he stepped inside her room. The slight smile on her face and the welcome on her lips faded when she saw his stony expression. "Mina-tan, what's wrong?"

"Uzume-san's gone," he said. "I don't know why, and I don't know where." His eyes tightened, as did his fists. "She even left behind all those outfits she had in her closet 'for the girls'." Matsu blinked a few times, peering over her glasses at Minato as if he'd grown a second head. In response, he shook his head and sighed. "I'm worried about her, but I don't think I was going to talk her out of it. She was scared out of her mind, but she wasn't going to stop no matter what I said." His expression softened, but it looked more despondent than Matsu had ever seen Minato be before. "I want to know why, though. Something's not right. And I know I promised I wouldn't do anything stupid after what we just got through, but I can't...I don't want Uzume-san to suffer alone if I can help her."

Matsu made a quiet humming sound and straightened her glasses and her posture, fixing Minato with that calm, calculating look that let him know she meant business. "Well, I may have an idea or two about what the problem might be, Minato-sama," she said. "Do you want to hear my theories?"

Minato nodded, and Matsu turned back to her collection of monitors. With a few keystrokes, Uzume's Ashikabi profile was on the biggest screen. Matsu then said, "I've kept a copy of Uzume-san's file on my servers ever since we found out that she was the one that attacked Kuno and Shigi-san, and I did a little research to add to the information that MBI had on her. Right now, her Ashikabi, Chiho Hidaka, is a patient at Hiyamakai Hospital. Hidaka-san's suffering from a degenerative disease that's been destroying her motor functions for the last couple of years. So far, the damage has been limited to her legs and feet, but it's gradually spreading upward, and could completely paralyze her before it stops her heart." She moved her mouse to another file folder titled "Ashikabi Profiles" on a smaller screen in front of her and began looking through it for a specific file. "Right now, the doctors at Hiyamakai have her on an experimental treatment that is prolonging the damage, but it's not likely their treatment will actually do anything to stop it for good. It's also an expensive measure, about 10,000,000 yen a month, and Hidaka-san's been without substantial financial support for some time—her last living relative died not too long after the Sekirei Plan started."

"So then how has she been paying for it?" Minato asked.

Matsu found the file she was looking for and pulled it up on the big screen, replacing Uzume's profile with that of a fair-haired young man with a hard chin, narrow eyes, and a sullen scowl on his face. Minato immediately started, and said, "Isn't that one of the Ashikabi that you said could have winged Tsukiumi if I hadn't done it?"

"You remember him, then," Matsu said. "His name is Izumi Higa, the Ashikabi of the East, and his company, Higa Pharmaceuticals, owns Hiyamakai Hospital. They're also the last big rival that MBI has in this city insofar as biomedical services are concerned." Her frown deepened as she turned back to Minato again, and given the darkening look on his face, she knew that he knew where her train of thought was going. "I think that he has employed Uzume-san to terminate other Sekirei, in order to avoid risking any of his own Sekirei while undercutting as many of the Ashikabi as he can."

"And the moment she doesn't follow orders, Hidaka-san stops getting her treatment," Minato said, his voice dropping to a growl. "God damn it. If Uzume-san was attacking Kuno-san, then she must've been one of Higa's targets, and we have no idea who else he could be sending her after! We have to..." His voice trailed off, and he grimaced, shaking his head. "No. No, that's what got us in trouble last time. For now, I'll just tell Asama-san that Uzume-san had to go for a few days, and then...then we'll figure something out."

Matsu stood up and reached up with both hands to squeeze his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "Minato-sama, you're only human, and you can't fix every problem you see in front of you without thinking about the consequences. That kind of behavior is why Musubi and Tsukiumi are both injured right now."

Minato pursed his lips together, then closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "I know that," he whispered. "But Uzume-san is our friend, more so than Kuno-san and Shigi-san were. She doesn't deserve this. She can't fix this by herself. There has to be something..."/

Without flinching, Matsu gripped him tighter, and her voice took on a cold, yet despairing edge that Minato had never imagined it could. "Let it go for now, Minato-sama. Please. Uzume-san is our friend, but we have our own position to consider. Remember—there aren't three great Ashikabi powers anymore. There are four, and you're one of them. Any moves you make are going to set off some big waves in the Plan, and could cause a lot more trouble than they could fix."

Being reminded of his new title and "importance" in the Sekirei Plan did nothing to appease Minato's frustration. He'd first found out about it from Matsu after talking with Tsukiumi—when he had gone upstairs to change into his gi and start doing meditation with Musubi, Akitsu, and Tsukiumi, Matsu had come out of her room to greet him with her tablet in hand, showing him the forum thread that documented the escape incident and the fight with the Disciplinary Squad. The Ashikabi visiting the forums named him "the Ashikabi of the North" as a result of his Sekirei's performance in the battle. Much of the meditation time he'd spent with his three Sekirei focused largely on trying to process this, and he had completely failed to do so. All it meant was more attention that he didn't want, more problems for him and his Sekirei down the road. He didn't give one whit about being famous among Ashikabi—all he wanted now was to find a way to get his Sekirei all through the Plan in one piece.

"I don't like this," he said at last. Through their empathetic bond, Matsu could feel the resentment toward his own actions growing larger, and let him go, knowing that he understood what she had said to him. "I never asked for this."

"It's true, you didn't," Matsu said. She straightened her glasses and continued to look up into her Ashikabi's eyes, and he looked back at her, his mouth drawn into a tight line that betrayed his frustration. "Minato-sama, choices have consequences. You're strong enough to deal with both of them. You just have to be patient, and remember that you're not alone." Her voice softened. "I'll try to keep tabs on Uzume-tan for the next week, OK? I won't be able to do much, but if it gets really bad, I'll let you know. For right now, just make sure that Muu-tan doesn't hurt herself too badly. I don't think that Takami-tan wouldn't be too happy if Muu-tan wound up back in the hospital so soon."

"I suppose not," Minato said after a moment. After another pause, he took a half-step towards Matsu, as if unsure about what he was going to do next, then shook his head and firmly swept her into a short hug. She squeaked slightly, but reveled in the warmth of his body until he let her go, and gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks...Matsu."

Before she could reply, he left the room.

As the wall closed behind him, Minato turned forward to see Homura come up the stairs, lost in thought. The gray-haired man was muttering something under his breath, and when he turned towards Minato, jumped for a moment, and flushed bright red. The sudden reaction, as well as the oddly feminine way that Homura held himself for a few moments afterward, made Minato raise an eyebrow in confusion.

_In fact, _Minato thought, _it's more than just that._ He knew that Homura had always been fairly androgynous, but looking at the other man now, Minato could swear that Homura's slim frame had grown even slimmer, particularly at the waist. Even the proportions of Homura's face and neck had changed slightly, and seemed much less masculine than before. After a moment, Minato shook off the odd observations and asked, "Is everything alright, Kagari-san?"

Homura shook his head and smiled, but it was too tight, too high strung, to be natural. "Yes!" he said, a little quickly. "Yes, everything's fine. I was just a bit surprised, is all. I didn't realize you were up here. I'm sorry if I startled you."

"Well, all right," Minato replied. "Excuse me, I've gotta get back to the girls downstairs. They're waiting on me for exercises and all..."

Homura stepped aside without another word, and Minato made for the stairs. Once Minato was out of earshot, though, Homura quickly reached up and loosened a few of the buttons on his shirt, then gripped his head for a moment, trying to purge the burning feeling in his heart, to stop the blush that Minato had caused in him. For a few brief moments, when they'd first made eye contact, Homura had almost wanted to pin Minato to the wall and shove his tongue down Minato's throat, propriety be damned. He had only been able to stop himself by sheer force of will, but knew that as his body changed more and more, he would lose even that ability.

"It's not supposed to be this way," Homura said to himself. "Damn it, I barely see him around as it is. Why did it have to be him? I'm not supposed to have...I can't. Just stop, damn you!"

When he was relatively more put together, Homura took a few deep breaths and walked straight to Matsu's wall, inadvertently wobbling a bit as he stepped, and knocked on it. This time, Matsu opened it herself, blinking in surprise when she saw him standing in front of her and wavering like he was about to collapse. Through his half-buttoned shirt, Matsu saw a peek of the bandages wrapped around his upper body, but could also see the clear swell of breasts beneath them, and the flushing not only of his face, but most of his skin. "It's gotten worse," she said, her brows furrowing as she glared at him. "Damn it, Homura, I told you that the moment you started showing symptoms, you had to stop being the Sekirei Guardian! If it's come this far, then I don't think drugs can—"

"It's not because of that!" Homura retorted. "It's because of him." He coughed, and instinctively clutched his chest. "I...it's him it's reacting to. It's Sahashi." He grit his teeth, trying not to break down too much more, but he knew he couldn't do it. "Every night, now...I see him in my dreams. I remember watching him work out with Musubi and Akitsu. I see him smiling at his Sekirei, and talking to them. I see him hugging them, and I wish he would look at me that way. I wish he would hold me, and smile at me, and make me smile. But I don't want him to look at me that way!" He fixed Matsu with a wide, panicked stare, and a slight heat haze began to rise from his body. "I don't like men, damn it! I'm a man! I don't want him, but...I...!"

Matsu bit her lip. She may not have understood exactly what Homura was going through, but she understood what he was trying to say. Something about Minato—be it personality, power as an Ashikabi, or something else—had struck a chord in Homura's heart, and now his body was responding to a subconscious desire that he had never been willing to face: the desire to have an Ashikabi of his own.

"I should have seen it earlier, Homura," she said aloud, hanging her head. "When this first started happening to you, I just thought your body was becoming unstable. But all this time, it must have been reacting to Minato-sama, trying to change you to please him. In fact, that was probably why it started becoming so unstable in the first place, and trying to fight it only made it worse." She raised her head again, noting that he was still agitated (though not enough so to make the haze around him magnify itself). Words that she wanted to say formed on the tip of her tongue, but she refrained, knowing that if she spoke them, Homura would deny them. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll go straight to Teitou Tower and die fighting if I have to," Homura replied, managing to straighten up despite the feverish appearance he had. "I'm not meant to have an Ashikabi, and even if I was, I don't want it to be him. It just can't be him."

"And why can't it be him?" Matsu asked. She internally winced at what she was going to say next, but she knew she had to say it, now. "What's wrong with Minato-sama? Homura, your body is doing this for a reason. You can't keep ignoring it, or you're going to die. And just because you don't think yourself worthy of an Ashikabi doesn't mean that you're right! You deserve to be happy too!"

Homura's hand lit up, and he raised it to slam it into the nearest wall. However, he stopped when he saw Matsu's shocked expression, and he raised his flaming, shaking hand to his face, staring at it blankly for several moments. Eventually, he closed his hand into a fist, and with a supreme effort, willed the flames to stop. Then, he turned away from Matsu, and his shoulders fell. "There is no happiness for any Sekirei if that sneering bastard Minaka is still alive. As long as he lives, the Sekirei Plan doesn't stop. As long as it doesn't stop, we all suffer. You're not stupid, Matsu. You know this already."

Matsu shook her head, whipping her pigtails around. "Then isn't that all the more reason to try and be with your Ashikabi? So that if, God forbid, you don't make it to the end, you can at least say you were able to find something that made you happy?" Tears began to pool at the corner of her eyes. "Homura, you're killing yourself over this. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to all those Sekirei you risked so much to save. How is it that they get to find their Ashikabi and you just have to sit and waste away?"

"Life isn't fair," Homura replied, without turning around. "I accepted that a long time ago. You should do the same."

Without saying anything else, he left, and Matsu felt the warmth from Minato's hug drain out of her body. There was no telling how long Homura's body would keep holding out if he remained in conflict with himself, let alone if he insisted on trying to fight. But it was clear that there was no talking him out of whatever he was planning to do, either.

Matsu stood in the silence for what seemed like an eternity before she turned back to her computers and sat down, taking control of a satellite to begin her search for Uzume. She would not forget Homura's pain, and she would do whatever she could either to ease it or to make him accept the truth.

However, she would be damned if she failed at one of the few favors her Ashikabi he directly asked of her.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**6:30 PM**

When Minato finally returned to the porch, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Kazehana and Kusano sitting in front of a closed-eyed Akitsu, allowing the scrapped Sekirei to instruct them in the breathing exercise, while Musubi showed Tsukiumi how to hold her stance. Though Kazehana and Tsukiumi were doing just fine, Kusano kept fidgeting and wiggling, only stopping when Akitsu opened one eye to give her a pointed glance. Not too far from the door, Miya was standing and watching them practice without a word. Minato simply looked in her direction, returning her faint smile, before turning back to his Sekirei and watching them do what they were doing, waiting to see if his intervention was even necessary.

After a few minutes of this, Musubi turned to the porch, and beamed broadly at Minato when she saw him. "Oh, Minato! There you are!"

Minato waved back, allowing his smile to grow wider. "Hey, Musubi. Looks like you're doing a pretty good job with Tsukiumi-san there."

Tsukiumi scoffed and shook her head as she eased out of her stance. "'Tis child's play to use your arts, Minato. I am more intrigued by the matter of these breathing exercises, however. Musubi walked me through those as well, and I found their effect on my powers rather interesting." She smiled, and even blushed slightly. "It shall be an interesting challenge to see how my skills will grow with more training."

"You only think it's easy because you haven't had me running you hard yet," Minato replied, folding his arms. "Wait till you get to drills. You'll be singing a way different tune then." He then looked over to Akitsu. "Akitsu-san, how's it going with Kazehana-san and Kuu-chan?"

"Kuu will take more time to get used to it," Akitsu said, keeping her eyes shut. "Kazehana understands much better than the rest of us, though."

"Compared to the wind, one's breath isn't really very much air to control," Kazehana said, shrugging her shoulders. She gave Minato a sly wink and her usual pert smile. "I don't know if I want to learn any of those fancy moves Musubi used on the bridge, though. I feel pretty comfortable with what I can do already."

Minato stepped down from the porch, still smiling. "I only suggested this as a way for us all to spend time together anyway. I'm not making anyone do anything they don't want to." He looked them all over again, and felt a satisfied warmth coming through their mental link with him. It somewhat eased the cold knot in his stomach that he felt at the thought of Uzume, but only a little bit. "Anyway, let's pick up from where we left off, OK?"

All of his Sekirei nodded, and Minato chuckled to himself before he got back to the business of teaching them.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

**9 PM**

After training, eating dinner, and bathing, Minato's earlier prediction turned out to be dead accurate. Musubi, Tsukiumi, and Kusano were all worn out from the exercises Minato had put them through, and were all asleep in their rooms, completely insensate. Akitsu and Kazehana were still awake, and had joined Minato out on the second floor balcony as he watched the stars under the semi-warm night sky, enjoying the occasional warm breeze that came through as they leaned against him and looked up to the sky. Kazehana had changed into a long-sleeved purple robe with pink flower patterns on it, and held a bottle of sake in hand and a few small wine cups. Every now and then, she'd pour out a little of the sake and down it delicately, as both Minato and Akitsu had indicated that they didn't want any of it. Akitsu was wearing a simple white nightgown, and Minato was in a short-sleeved shirt and plain black sweatpants.

The only real sticking point of the evening had been the fact that Uzume was clearly absent from the dinner table. When Miya asked why Uzume wasn't at the dinner table, Minato immediately passed on Uzume's message, doing his best to avoid looking distressed. Miya had accepted it readily enough, but Minato could tell that it had bothered her, and privately, he couldn't help but brood on Uzume's absence the whole night, even now, when he was supposed to be enjoying quality time with his newest Sekirei and the Sekirei that he didn't talk with very often.

It was this quiescent scene that Miya witnessed when she came out to the patio just around 9 PM. Rather than sit with Minato and the others, she simply stood at the door, seeing what few stars that could be seen through the city lights.

"Sahashi-san," Miya asked after a moment, "did she tell you what kind of business she had to attend to, exactly?"

Minato shook his head, but didn't look back to answer her. He could hear the hint of steel in her voice and was not quite up to seeing that terrifying expression on her face that could be called a smile. "I could make a guess or two, but I'm not sure."

Miya stepped out of the door frame entirely, and stood on Minato's right side, next to where Kazehana sat. "I find it odd that you didn't ask about it more, or ask her to tell me directly instead of leaving me a message."

"Darling knows better than to go digging into people's business too much these days," Kazehana replied, taking another sip of sake. "I think the bridge incident taught him a little bit too much about that sort of thing." She gave Miya a calm, easy glance, smiling as a faint blush came to her cheeks. "But, Miya, don't you think that's sort of a depressing subject to bring up?"

"I'm not the one that brought it up, though," Miya said, and a hint of her aura peeked through, causing Kazehana to flinch just a little bit, and look away with a sigh. "At any rate, Sahashi-san. I have another question for you, since Kazehana-san so indelicately reminded me of it. Do you fully understand what has happened as a result of last night's events?"

"My mother gave me an idea at the hospital," Minato said. "And Matsu told me...what the other Ashikabi have been saying about me." He kept staring up at the sky, kept his face neutral and unreadable. "'Ashikabi of the North', 'more dangerous than the East or the South'...I can't stay low-profile anymore with that reputation."

Akitsu frowned slightly as Minato shifted his weight. She could feel a slight tremor in his body that wasn't coming from the night air, and so could Kazehana.

"And if that's the case," he continued, "then I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it to the end of this stupid thing after all. I told everyone at the hospital that they were like a second family to me, and I meant it. I don't want to have to hurt other Sekirei and other Ashikabi, but I refuse to lose any of mine." He closed his eyes and sighed. He hated himself for saying that, but knew that it was the truth. It was selfish and ugly, but it was the truth. "And if somehow, I can stop the Sekirei Plan, or if I can help...anyone, I'll do it. I know what that could mean, but if everyone is willing to help me, I'll do everything I can to make sure that no one else is hurt."

Miya looked down at him after he finished speaking, and he looked up at her in reply. Neither of them spoke for a while, and then, Miya said, "You sounded very much like Takehito just now."

Minato blinked. "Really?"

Miya nodded. "At first, I think he was just happy to be part of the big discovery, part of something bigger than him. But after he saw some of the results of his work, he wanted to do everything he could to change it, to let the Sekirei live like real human beings." Then, for the first time that Minato could ever remember, Miya actually frowned as she spoke, though it was so soft that it was almost invisible. "He never got the chance, and died with so, so many regrets. Sometimes, when I go to his grave, I can imagine that he's just sitting there, staring up at the sky and wishing that he'd woken up to reality sooner." She turned away from Minato after saying that, and looked back upward, her hands folded primly in front of her. "Hearing you say that just reminded me of him. It makes me hope that you might be able to do what he couldn't, if you seriously intend to help as many Sekirei and Ashikabi as you can."

Minato stayed quiet for a while, allowing the night sounds of the city to fill the silence. Then, he said, "Really, it's Musubi's dream as much as it is mine, Asama-san. She wants all the Sekirei and all the Ashikabi to live happily once the game is over. The only way to do that is either to stop the game altogether or to win it so that she can do what she wants." Despite everything, he allowed himself an honest smile. "Yeah. It's a good dream. And I wanna help her see it through."

Miya let out a small laugh. "'Miya-san' is fine now, Sahashi-san."

Minato looked at her again, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You—and Musubi-san, to some extent—have 'inherited' Takehito's will," she said. "In my eyes, I think that means that we've grown beyond formalities, at least insofar as formalities directed toward me are concerned." Her smile widened just a little more. "In fact, if it's all right, I'd prefer to call you by your first name from now on...Minato-kun."

Minato nodded. "It's fine, Asama—er, Miya-san. I don't mind at all. Actually, I'm a little flattered."

Miya returned his nod, and Kazehana sighed in contentment as she snuggled deeper into Minato's side; the sake had caught up with her now and she was dozing off rapidly. Akitsu remained awake and alert, but had also pressed in closer to him, and by instinct he wrapped one arm each around their waists, allowing one hand each to rest in a Sekirei's lap, and closed his eyes, taking a small breath.

He didn't know what would come tomorrow. He didn't know if his father was alright. He didn't know if Kuno and Shigi were still running under this starry sky, or if Uzume was hunting down other Sekirei for Higa. He didn't know if Yukari and Shiina were staying quiet and safe at home.

Put bluntly, for all the things he had come to know during the Sekirei Plan, there were now so many things that he did not know.

In particular, whether or not he would make it to the end.

But what he did know was that his second family was here with him. It wasn't a perfect family—the fact that cheerful, taciturn, flirty, perverted, innocent, and tsundere personalities were all thrown into the mix pretty much ensured that—but it was a family nonetheless, and if nothing else he knew that they would be willing to stand by him.

So, on that beautiful starlit night, Minato Sahashi simply closed his eyes, melted into the embrace of two of his six Sekirei, and let all his worries and fears of what would come next fade away.

For now, there was only the now.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Well, this is it._

_Part 1's done._

_I took extra time on this because I really wanted things to come together. And by the time my initial deadline had come and gone, it wasn't up to par, so I pushed it further and further and further._

_To be honest, I'm still a little unsure about how it turned out, even now, but I feel like by finishing the first part that I've actually managed to do something I hadn't done before as far as storytelling goes. Ideas for part 2 were already coming to me, but I had to sort of put them on hold so that I could focus on getting this done._

_As far as what's coming next, well. I was hoping that I'd be up to Substitute School Second Semester by now, but the one chapter I have pre-written is in something of a rut, and I don't feel that confident about being able to either finish it up or to re-rail it. I think that this might actually be an appropriate time to do some one-shot works that I've been holding off on for a while, and then we'll see where things go from there._

_But back on topic. For all of you that have read and enjoyed this story, I'm happy that I was able to satisfy your urges as readers. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and hope that this ending lived up to what drew you in in the first place. It is my hope that I can continue this story another time, another day, and hopefully keep that magic going strong._

_In the meantime, take care, and be well. Goodbye for now._

_~Zero-Sennin_


End file.
